The Motion Picture Editors Guild has asked the Academy to reverse its decision to present four Oscars during the commercial breaks.
There has been an outcry in Hollywood following the news that the awards for Best Cinematography, Film Editing, Live Action Short and Make-up and Hairstyling will not be televised live during the show on 24 February (19).
The Editors Guild is the latest body to share its disappointment, with Editors Guild president Alan Heim sharing an email he sent to his members with Deadline.
"In its mandate to shorten the Academy Awards' telecast, the Academy has insulted all of us who work 'below the line.' Many of our members and those of other IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Locals are understandably upset," he began the email.
"There is much outcry for the Academy to reverse its decision, and the Motion Picture Editors Guild joins those voices. If it does not reverse its decision, let us all do everything we can to see that this demeaning experiment will not be repeated."
Heim also highlighted the fact that the annual awards show, the most important night in the showbiz calendar, motivates endless amounts of people to seek a career in film and that the educational value may be even greater than the entertainment factor.
"It doesn't matter which categories are affected this year or next; none of them should be," he wrote. "The very idea is anathema to the collaborative nature of filmmaking. The Academy has historically honored ALL of the crafts involved in filmmaking and the search for better TV ratings shouldn't affect that. We have always been told that the Academy honors the very best in filmmaking, but removing some categories from equal acknowledgement on the air seems to contradict that narrative."
A host of Hollywood heavyweights like Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese have also demanded the decision be reversed in an open letter which was sent to Academy bosses calling on them to reinstate the Oscars categories they've relegated to the ad breaks. More stars have since signed the letter, including Alfonso Cuaron, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
