The Oscars announce that Zoom speeches ‘will not be an option’ for those uneasy about traveling

The Oscars ceremony next month will be an intimate, in-person gathering, limited to nominees, presenters and their guests at Union Station in Los Angeles.

In an email sent to nominees on Thursday, attendees were informed there ‘will not be an option to Zoom in for the show’ amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Guests also must adhere to a dress code, which is 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.’ 

Ahead of the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony on April 25, producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher told the more than 200 nominees that an on-site COVID safety team will be present for the event. 

‘Congratulations on your Academy Award nomination! To borrow the words of an annoying flight attendant, WE ARE HONORED TO BE A PART OF YOUR JOURNEY. We trust you’re happy that your fellow artists have recognized you in an exceptional year, and it’s our wish, as your producers, to create an experience for you as a nominee that lives up to and enhances that achievement,’ the trio began. 

The producers continued: ‘The first—and most obvious—point we want to get across with this year’s show is STORIES MATTER. We, as a species, are wired for narrative. It’s how we communicate. It’s how we learn. It’s how we evolve. We are surrounded by stories, we’re swimming in them, they’re inescapable. And MOVIES are—we think––the most powerful form of storytelling ever invented.’ 

In regards to the ceremony being in-person ‘with additional show elements live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood,’ the producers acknowledged why some would be hesitant to gather together. 

‘Of course, your first thought is CAN THAT BE DONE SAFELY? The answer is YES, IT CAN,’ they assured. ‘We are 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.’ 

Gusts traveling in from outside of Los Angeles will receive ‘specific instructions,’ which will vary from those already based in Los Angeles. 

Those who are ‘unable to attend because of scheduling or continued uneasiness about traveling’ were told ‘there will not be an option to Zoom in for the show.’ 

‘We are going to great lengths to provide a safe and ENJOYABLE evening for all of you in person, as well as for all the millions of film fans around the world, and we feel the virtual thing will diminish those efforts,’ they explained. 

The producers also encouraged winners to make their speeches ‘personal’ and that the night will ideally have a ‘feeling of casual exchange and good humor.’ 

On Monday, the president of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences, also spelled out just how different the event will be.

In a letter emailed to the Academy’s nearly 10,000 members, David Rubin confirmed that only presenters and nominees with a plus one will be present in person for the telecast, THR.com reported.  

Rubin wrote: ‘Though we’d hoped the pandemic would be more in our rearview mirror by the month of April, the health and safety of our members and Oscar nominees are our primary concern, so we’ve had to make some necessary decisions about some of our highly anticipated Oscar-week events.’

It had already been announced that the show will come from two locations – from its usual home at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre and from the historic Union Station in Downtown LA.

Presumably having two venues means that the nominees, presenters and crew can be spread out between both places, enabling adequate social distancing.

In addition to there being no audience, Rubin revealed that all the usual events that surround the awards show are also being scrapped.

There will not be the Oscar Nominees Luncheon ahead of the April 25 awards show and the traditional post-ceremony Governor’s Ball is also cancelled. 

 Earlier in the day, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra announced this year’s Academy Awards nominations.

David Fincher’s black-and-white Netflix movie Mank secured the most nominations, with 10 nods including for best picture, best director, best actor for Gary Oldman and best supporting actress for Amanda Seyfried. 

Six films, all of them also up for best picture, scored six nominations each: Judas and the Black Messiah, Nomadland, Minari, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and The Father.  Also nominated for best picture was Promising Young Woman.

Joining Oldman in the best actor category are Anthony Hopkins, Riz Ahmed, Steven Yeun and the late Chadwick Boseman.

The best actress nominees are Viola Davis, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Frances McDormand and Carey Mulligan.

In the best supporting actor category are Sacha Baron Cohen, Leslie Odom Jr., Daniel Kaluuya, Paul Raci and LaKeith Stanfield.

The best supporting actress nominees are Seyfried, Maria Bakalova, Glenn Close, Yuh-Jung Youn and Olivia Colman.