Bosses for the 2021 Academy Awards have confirmed that this year’s ceremony won’t see any of its winners accept their prizes via. Zoom, as plans for an intimate in-person celebration were revealed on Thursday.
The ceremony, set to take place on April 25, will be strictly limited to nominees, presenters and their guests at Union Station in Los Angeles, with the vast venue allowing plenty of space for social distancing.
In an email sent to nominees, producers also stated that guests will adhere to a formal dress code, meaning it’s unlikely celebrities can emulate Jason Sudeikis by wearing a hoodie for the occasion.
This year’s awards season has faced multiple delays due to the ongoing Covid crisis, with the Golden Globes seeing all of its winners accepting their awards over Zoom and presenters hosting the ceremony from sites in both LA and New York.
No Zoom: Bosses for the 2021 Oscars have confirmed that none of this year’s winners will accept their prizes via. Zoom, as plans for an intimate celebration were revealed on Thursday
In the email, producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher told 200 nominees that an on-site COVID safety team will be present for the event.
It also stated that parts of the ceremony will be filmed at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with instructions for guests depending on where they are travelling from.
It said: ‘We trust you’re happy that your fellow artists have recognised you in an exceptional year, and it’s our wish, as your producers, to create an experience for you as a nominee that lives up to and enhances that achievement.
‘The first—and most obvious—point we want to get across with this year’s show is STORIES MATTER. We, as a species, are wired for narrative. It’s how we communicate. It’s how we learn. It’s how we evolve.
‘We are surrounded by stories, we’re swimming in them, they’re inescapable. And MOVIES are—we think––the most powerful form of storytelling ever invented.’
Committed to safety? In an email sent to nominees on Thursday, attendees were informed there ‘will not be an option to Zoom in for the show’ amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
In regards to the ceremony being in-person ‘with additional show elements live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood,’ the producers acknowledged why some stars would be hesitant to gather together.
‘Of course, your first thought is CAN THAT BE DONE SAFELY? The answer is YES, IT CAN,’ they assured. ‘We are treating the event as an active movie set, with specially designed testing cadences to ensure up-to-the-minute results, including an on-site COVID safety team with PCR testing capability.’
Guests travelling in from outside of Los Angeles will receive ‘specific instructions,’ which will vary from those already based in Los Angeles.
Limited guests: Ahead of the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony on April 25, producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher told the more than 200 nominees that an on-site COVID safety team will be present for the event
Hear us out: In regards to the ceremony being in-person ‘with additional show elements live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood,’ the producers acknowledged why some would be hesitant to gather together
Thinking ahead: Guests travelling in from outside of Los Angeles will receive ‘specific instructions,’ which will vary from those already based in Los Angeles
Those who are ‘unable to attend because of scheduling or continued uneasiness about travelling’ were told ‘there will not be an option to Zoom in for the show.’
‘We are going to great lengths to provide a safe and ENJOYABLE evening for all of you in person, as well as for all the millions of film fans around the world, and we feel the virtual thing will diminish those efforts,’ they explained.
The producers also encouraged winners to make their speeches ‘personal’ and that the night will ideally have a ‘feeling of casual exchange and good humour.’
Guests also must adhere to a strict dress code, with the email stating it will be a ‘fusion of Inspirational and aspirational, which in actual words means formal is totally cool if you want to go there, but casual is really not.’
On Monday, the president of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences, also spelled out just how different the event will be.
In a letter emailed to the Academy’s nearly 10,000 members, David Rubin confirmed that only presenters and nominees with a plus one will be present in person for the telecast, THR.com reported.
Rubin wrote: ‘Though we’d hoped the pandemic would be more in our rearview mirror by the month of April, the health and safety of our members and Oscar nominees are our primary concern, so we’ve had to make some necessary decisions about some of our highly anticipated Oscar-week events.’
No choice: Those who are ‘unable to attend because of scheduling or continued uneasiness about traveling’ were told ‘there will not be an option to Zoom in for the show’ (seen in 2020)
It had already been announced that the show will come from two locations – from its usual home at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre and from the historic Union Station in Downtown LA.
Presumably having two venues means that the nominees, presenters and crew can be spread out between both places, enabling adequate social distancing.
In addition to there being no audience, Rubin revealed that all the usual events that surround the awards show are also being scrapped, meaning no Oscar Nominees Luncheon or post-ceremony Governor’s Ball.
Heads up: On Monday, the president of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences, also spelled out just how different the event will be
It comes in the wake of a scaled-down Golden Globes in February, which saw all winners accept their prizes from home via. Zoom.
Venues in New York and Los Angeles allowed for adequate social distancing, with only the presenters and hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler present for the ceremony, while all events surrounding the occasion were cancelled.
Earlier in the day, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra announced this year’s Academy Awards nominations, with David Fincher’s Mank scooping the most with 10 nods.
This year’s nominees proved historic in regards to diversity, with a total of nine actors of colour earning a nod.
Six films, all of them also up for Best Picture, scored six nominations each: Judas and the Black Messiah, Nomadland, Minari, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and The Father, while Promising Young Woman was also up for the top prize.
Here they are: Early on Monday morning, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra had announced this year’s Academy Awards nominations
Joining Gary Oldman in the Best Actor category are Anthony Hopkins, Riz Ahmed, Steven Yeun and the late Chadwick Boseman.
Meanwhile Viola Davis, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Frances McDormand and Carey Mulligan are up for Best Actress.
In the Best Supporting actor category are Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Odom Jr., Daniel Kaluuya, Paul Raci and LaKeith Stanfield.
Rounding out the acting categories was Best Supporting Actress, with Amanda Seyfried, Maria Bakalova, Glenn Close, Yuh-Jung Youn and Olivia Colman all up for the coveted prize.
Frontrunner: David Fincher’s black-and-white Netflix movie Mank secured the most nominations, with 10 nods including for best picture, best director, best actor for Gary Oldman and best supporting actress for Amanda Seyfried