Oscars 2021: No Zoom And Virtual Attendance Option Creates Difficulties For The Nominees

This years' Oscars ceremony not having a Zoom attendance policy or an option to attend virtually, have left some of the nominees in a soup. This has especially given rise to difficulties for the nominees who reside outside the United States and those who are still abiding by the pandemic restrictions. This rule of the Oscars ceremony regarding the attendance amidst a pandemic situation has received backlash from many sectors of the film industry.

According to news reports in Deadline Hollywood and Variety, studio executives and publicists have also presented their grievances to the film academy regarding factors like quarantine rules, expenditures and logistics. This came after the organizers decided to prevent the nominees from taking part in the Oscars ceremony virtually. However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not break their silence on the ongoing complaints against their decision.

Also Read: Oscars 2021 Complete Nominations List: Mank, Minari, Nomadland Lead With Nods In Major Categories

The Oscars ceremony will be taking place on April 25, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood as well as in the Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. The producers of the award ceremony had revealed last week that there will be no attendence via Zoom for the show. They had further encouraged all the nominees to attend the ceremony in person.

Also Read: Oscars 2021: Academy Awards Will Take Place In Person, To Air Live From Many Locations

For the unversed, at least nine nominees including actor Carey Mulligan and Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell reside in Britain. The upcoming week might see England put a ban on all non-essential international travel until mid of May. Along with them, dignitaries representing five international feature films of Hong Kong, Denmark, Bosnia, Romania and Tunisia may also face obstacles with the imposition of this rule.

The reports further stated that around 200 nominees will be working with the production team that will either require quarantine or residing within a strict restriction with the cast and crew. The other award ceremonies had replaced the physical attendance of the nominees with attending virtually or in the form of a pre-recorded video. The movies with the leading number of nominations for Oscars 2021 are Mank (10) Judas And The Black Messiah (6), Nomadland (6), Minari (6), and The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (6). Apart from these, the other films nominated for Best Picture include The Father, Promising Young Woman and Sound Of Metal.