Oscars Organisers Want Nominees To Attend In-Person Ceremony

This year’s Oscars nominees have been told that the appearance on Zoom will not be the way to go.

In a letter to the nominees, the award show organizers said they did their best to provide a safe and enjoyable night for all of the nominees in-person and not virtually.

Other Award Shows

The ceremony will break ranks with this year’s Golden Globes and Emmys where winners accepted their awards via Zoom as part of Covid-19 safety measures.

The 93rd Academy Awards are due on April 25 in Los Angeles.

The letter, published by US entertainment blog website Deadline, lists the ideas from producers Steven Soderbergh, Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins.

No Zoom Option

“For those of you who are unable to attend due to planning or continued dissatisfaction with the move, we want you to know that there will be no opportunity to zoom in on the show,” he said.

“We will do our best to provide a safe and enjoyable evening for all of you personally, as well as for all millions of film lovers around the world, and we feel that something tangible will limit those efforts.”

They said the event would involve security teams in the Covid-19 testing zone with the ability to conduct rapid tests.

“There will be specific instructions for those of you traveling from outside Los Angeles, and other instructions for those already in Los Angeles,” the letter said. “All of this will come to you directly from the Academy to ensure you have a safe, trouble-free night.

No Casual Dressing

The producers also asked nominees not to be casually dressed – another break from awards such as the Golden Globes where some winners appeared in very laid-back attire.

“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 read.

The Academy itself – the body that oversees the Oscars – has promised an “intimate” ceremony carried out under strict Covid-19 precautions.

Proceedings will take place at both the Dolby Theatre, the ceremony’s normal home, and Los Angeles’ main railway hub, Union Station.

According to Deadline, the Academy will host a 90-minute preshow gathering at the Union Station courtyard for nominees and their guests.