American Society of Cinematographers President Protests Treatment of Oscars Category | THR News - video Dailymotion

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The Academy on Monday announced that four Oscar categories, including cinematography and editing, would be presented during commercial breaks. American Society of Cinematographers president Kees Van Oostrum protests the move.

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00:00The American Society of Cinematographers has responded to the Academy's decision to

00:04present the award for best cinematography, film editing, live-action shorts and

00:08makeup and hairstyling during the commercial breaks of the telecast. And

00:11understandably, they're not happy. The organization's president, Kies van Ustrom,

00:15sent a letter to his 380 members in which he said,

00:18"...we cannot quietly condone this decision without protest."

00:21In his letter, van Ustrom argued,

00:23"...we consider filmmaking to be a collaborative effort where the responsibilities

00:27of the director, cinematographer, editor and other crafts often intersect.

00:31This decision could be perceived as a separation and division of this creative process,

00:35thus minimizing our fundamental creative contributions."

00:39The news was announced Monday by Academy president John Bailey, who belongs to the

00:43Cinematographers' branch and is an ASC member himself, in an email which detailed how

00:47this year's show would run.

00:49Bailey emphasized that the Academy is still honoring the achievements of all 24 awards

00:53on the Oscars. In the case of the four categories that will be announced during

00:56commercial breaks, the winners' speeches will air later in the broadcast, he said.

00:59The plans call for there to be a rotation each year, meaning that at least four different

01:03categories would use this format in 2020. The Academy did not immediately respond to a

01:08request for comment.

01:09Meanwhile, multiple sources have told The Hollywood Reporter that the

01:12cinematographer's branch volunteered to be among the categories that will be

01:16presented this year during the commercial breaks.

01:18However, speaking with THR on Monday, van Ustrom, who is also an Academy member,

01:22called it unfortunate that the Academy was forced to do this, but added that,

01:26"...I don't think Bailey had a choice due to pressure to shorten the Oscars broadcast."

01:30Also on Monday, Roma's Alfonso Cuaron, who was nominated this year in the

01:33cinematography category, added his thoughts, tweeting,

01:36In the history of cinema, masterpieces have existed without sound, without color,

01:41without a story, without actors and without music. No one single film has ever existed

01:46without cinematography and without editing.

01:49Meanwhile, IATSE international president Matthew D. Loeb lambasted the decision in a

01:54letter which read, in part,

01:56IATSE members, including cinematographers, editors and hair and makeup stylists,

02:01are the core of any motion picture production.

02:04They create the iconic scenes and looks that make this medium so memorable.

02:08Without their work, none of the most beloved films in Hollywood history would have been possible.

02:13It is an insult to the hard-working women and men of all below-the-line crafts to push these

02:18nominees and winners out of the spotlight. We demand that the Academy reverse course and treat

02:23all categories with the respect they deserve. To read more on this story, head to THR.com.

02:28For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.

American Society of Cinematographers President Protests Treatment of Oscars Category | THR News

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