2021 Oscars: Show Up In Person Or They’ll Accept On Your Behalf
Oscar nominees have all received a letter from the producers detailing what to expect and rules they will have to abide by for this year’s awards ceremony.
The 93rd annual Academy Awards is set to take place at Los Angeles’ Union Station and Dolby Theatre. The Dolby Theatre will most likely going be used for musical performances, since producers referred to the auditorium’s use for “additional show elements,” Deadline reports.
Only nominees, their guests and Oscar presenters will be attending the in person event. That being said, there will definitely not be Zoom call-ins, like most of the other post-pandemic awards shows. Oscar producers “feel the virtual thing will diminish” their efforts. Either the nominees show up in person, or the Academy will accept the Oscar on their behalf.
The letter details the safety protocols that will be in place, “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. There will be specific instructions for those of you traveling in from outside of Los Angeles, and other instructions for those of you who are already based in Los Angeles. This will all come directly to you from the Academy to ensure you have a safe, carefree evening (a glimpse of the future?).”
“Stories Matter” is a theme they are asking all nominees to take part in by allowing themselves to be interviewed to tell their personal story of what led them to the Oscars. As an attempt to connect the idea that “movies tell stories and, in one way or another, they are all storytellers themselves, with their own journey being one that can be shared at this year’s Oscars,” the outlet stated. They want to “highlight the connections between all of us who work in the movies and show that the process is uniquely intimate, collaborative, and fun,” according to the letter.
Addressing the notoriously long awards speeches, the letter calls out nominees saying, “READ THE ROOM. Tell a STORY.” If you’re thanking someone just “say their name, not their title. Make it PERSONAL.”
The producers also offer a suggested dress code, saying the usual formal look is fine but do NOT go “casual,” which we’ve seen in other awards shows (Pajamas and hoodies alike). “We’re aiming for 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,” the letter suggests.
The 93rd Oscars ceremony will air live on ABC Sunday, April 25th, at 8 p.m. EST.
