Zoom-free Oscars faces backlash from international nominees

Variety

The Academy Awards producers' announcement last week that all the Oscar statues will only be handed out in person, with no Zoom acceptance speeches, has generated outrage among studio executives, awards strategists, personal publicists, and the stars and filmmakers who make up the most diverse and international group of nominees in years. Many of the nominees live oversees where COVID rates are spiking or filming in production hubs in Australia or the UK. In order to attend the Oscars in person, foreign nominees would have to quarantine in Los Angeles and then do another quarantine when they returned home. "Some talent is currently filming in COVID bubble sets around the world," reports Variety. "There are rumors that the Academy would ask for nominees to quarantine anywhere from five to 14 days prior to the ceremony. After attending the Oscars, the talent can’t just return to work — in many cases, attendees would need to quarantine for another 14 days after leaving the U.S. That would shut down productions from 10 to 30 days for people to attend the ceremony, potentially costing studios millions of dollars in delays. It does not appear that producers have asked for information on whether attendees have been vaccinated." One source with nominees from around the globe tells Deadline that 10 days of quarantine will bankrupt their entire budget. Meanwhile, Britain is charging a nearly $7,000 fine for any traveler leaving the country for anything other than urgent business or medical reasons, begging the question if traveling to Hollywood to win an Oscar is related to urgent work. In an interview with Variety, British actress-director Emerald Fennell, who is up for best director, best original screenplay and Best Picture for Promising Young Women, was asked if she would attend the ceremony. “I hope so,” she said. “I’m desperate to. The idea of missing it is so awful, and I can’t bear to think about it. Obviously, it’s whatever is safe and allowed, but I’m not going to break the law by swimming the Atlantic. Though I would if I had the time and the core strength.” ALSO: Oscars hire Questlove as music director.