Steven Spielberg opposes pretaping some Oscar categories: 'All of us make movies together'

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Published on March 7, 2022 02:44PM EST

Steven Spielberg is widely recognized as one of the greatest directors of the last 50 years — and he's got a bone to pick with the Academy.

In a statement exclusive to Deadline, he spoke out against proposed changes to the Oscar broadcast, specifically their decision to move eight categories to an hour prior to the live broadcast and pre-tape and edit in those acceptance speeches.

"I disagree with the decision made by the executive committee. I feel very strongly that this is perhaps the most collaborative medium in the world. All of us make movies together, we become a family where one craft is just as indispensable as the next," he said. "I feel that at the Academy Awards there is no above the line, there is no below the line. All of us are on the same line bringing the best of us to tell the best stories we possibly can. And that means for me we should all have a seat at the supper table together live at 5."

Spielberg is himself a prolific Oscar nominee, having earned 19 nominations over his career, winning Best Director for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, as well as the honorary Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. He's in the Oscar race once more for his take on West Side Story, earning nominations for Best Director and Best Picture.

"When I look back and I think without John Williams, Jaws would wear dentures. With West Side Story, when Tony is singing 'Tonight' with Maria, without [Production Designer] Adam Stockhausen he would be singing it on a step-ladder and she would be on the scaffolding, all this on an empty soundstage. Without film editing all my movies would still be in dailies," Spielberg added. "We all come together to make magic, and I am sad that we will all not be on live television watching magic happen together. Everybody will have their moment in the limelight. All the winners will be able to be shown with their acceptance speeches, but it's the idea that we can't all be there."

Spielberg joins other prominent directors who have decried the changes, including Guillermo del Toro and Jane Campion. The decision has been met with a swift backlash since it was announced, particularly from within Academy membership. Over the weekend, Oscar-winning sound mixer Tom Fleischman resigned from the Academy over the changes (which directly impact the presentation of the Oscar for Best Sound Design).

Academy CEO Dawn Hudson and president David Rubin have previously defended the changes, stressing that it will have a minimal impact on the show and all winners will still get their moment in the sun. "The creative team and the production team will highlight the moments that count the most, the potent emotional speeches, likely the reaction when a name is called," Rubin explained. "But there's also a lot of that other time, that's involved in getting up onto that stage and finding that piece of paper and just looking to see if it's time to speak. All of that stuff is part of it, but we'll get to the most potent affecting emotional parts of the event."

"The board has discussed and agreed on the need to make changes to the broadcast, to allow for a celebratory show that also doesn't run well over three hours. That discussion has been ongoing but with more urgency for this year's show," Hudson said.

Because of such remarks, Spielberg said he's not optimistic the Academy will reverse course, as they did when a similar change was proposed in 2019. "I have tremendous respect for my fellow governors, and I have tremendous respect for David Rubin," he said. "The same thing came close to happening three years ago and at the eleventh hour a decision was made that reversed it and four categories that were in the commercial breaks were reinstated on the live show. I hope it's reversed, but I'm not anticipating a reversal and I am not optimistic about it."

Representatives for Spielberg and the Academy did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

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