Petition to Reinstate Eight Oscars to Live Telecast Signed by More Than 350 Industry Pros

Opposition to the Academy’s plan to award eight Oscars prior to the live telecast continues to grow, with more than 350 new names — including more than a dozen Oscar-winning editors, cinematographers and production designers — added to the petition sent last week to Academy president David Rubin urging a reversal of the plan.

Among the industry professionals signing are Oscar-winning cinematographers John Seale (“The English Patient”), John Toll (“Braveheart”) and Dean Semler (“Dances With Wolves”), and Oscar-winning editors Richard Chew and Paul Hirsch (“Star Wars”), Mikkel Neilsen (“The Sound of Metal”), Pietro Scalia (“JFK”) and Zach Staenberg (“The Matrix”).

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Oscar-winning production designers Hannah Beachler (“Black Panther”), Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), Adam Stockhausen (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) and David and Sandy Wasco (“La La Land”) also signed on.

Cinematography will be presented during the live show, but editing and production design are among the eight awards to be presented during the 4 p.m. Sunday hour on March 27, with edited excerpts of the nomination announcements and winner speeches to be included in the live show beginning at 5 p.m. The other six categories are original score, makeup and hairstyling, sound, documentary short, live-action short and animated short.

“Given the overwhelming response to the open letter of March 9,” says the revised petition, “below is an updated copy that now includes the names of more than 350 additional industry members who have asked to sign it. We urge you and the awards committee to reverse your decision to move these eight awards off this year’s live Oscars telecast.”

The original petition made a strong statement about the value of craftsmanship in the collaborative art of filmmaking. “Critical artistic crafts like music scoring, film editing, production design, makeup, hairstyling and sound will always deserve the same respect and recognition as crafts like acting, directing and visual effects,” it read. “To diminish any of these individual categories in the pursuit of ratings and short-term profits does irreparable damage to the Academy’s standing as impartial arbiters and responsible stewards of our industry’s most important awards.

“Seeking new audiences by making the telecast more entertaining is a laudable and important goal, but this cannot be achieved by demeaning the very crafts that, in their most outstanding expressions, make the art of filmmaking worthy of celebration.”

The original 70-plus names included such notables as directors James Cameron, Joe Roth and Guillermo del Toro; producers Kathleen Kennedy and Lili Fini Zanuck; writer Tony Kushner; costume designer Milena Canonero; production designers Dean Tavoularis, Dante Ferretti and Geoffrey Kirkland; cinematographers Dante Spinotti and Vittorio Storaro; and composers John Williams, Howard Shore, Alexandre Desplat, Hildur Guðnadóttir, John Corigliano, Dave Grusin, Steven Price, Jan Kaczmarek and Tan Dun.

The new signers include:

Felicity Abbott

Cate Adair

Evan Ahlgren

Floyd Albee

John David Allen

Stephen Altman

Ruth Ammon

Steve Arnold

Jeff Asher

Howard Atherton

Victoria Auth

Spencer Averick

Nicole Baer

Trevor Baker

Cecilia Banck

Chris Banting

Matthew Barbato

Matthew Barber, ACE

Antonia De Barros

Linda Bass

Matt Batchelor

Hannah Beachler

Rhet Bear

Jenny Beavan

Wendy Benbrook

Larry Bennett

Karen Berch

Ryan Berg

Arjun Bhasin

Kevin Bird

Sue Blainey, ACE

Dave Blass

Stuart Blatt

Oliver Bokelberg, ASC

Cameron Boling

Michael Bolton

Kyle Bond

Marissa Borsetto

Merideth Boswell

Mark Bourgeois

Eric Branco

John Brawley, ACS

Robert Brinkmann

Lisa Bromwell, ACE

Bill Brzeski

Gae Buckley

Nick Bupp

David Burr, ACS

Jenny Burton

Tom Burton

Eugenio Caballero

Joseph Calloway

Charisse Cardenas

Erik Carlson

Jim Carretta

Stephanie Carroll

Stephen H. Carter

Raymond Chan

Richard Chew, ACE

Pernille Bech Christensen

Daniel Clancy

Bianca Cline

Jake Cohen

Spencer Combs

Hillary Cook

Kairo Courts

Jarrett Craig

Brad Creasser

Jordan Crockett

Tom Cross

Michael Crow

Brent Crowell

Nathan Crowley

Elliot Davis

Eniola Dawodu

Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC

Paco Delgado

Jim Denault

Cece Destefano

Mark Doering-Powell, ASC

Stuart Dryburgh, ASC

Amy Duddleston, ACE

Denny Dugally

Jen Dunlap

Annie Eifrig

Andrew Eisen, ACE

Mindy Elliott

Frederick Elmes, ASC

Samantha Englender

Nicoletta Ercole

Greg T. Evans

Sigurdur Eythors

Tamar Federknopp

Sue Federman, ACE

Kathleen Felix-Hager

Diana Fishman

Wayne Fitterman

Peter Flinckenberg

Ann F Foley

Jace Ford

Bryce Fortner

Lesley Robson Foster

Keith Fraase

Richard Francis-Bruce, ACE

Sarah Frank

Jonathan Freeman

Mark Friedberg

Tak Fujimoto, ASC

David Gallego, ADFC

Gian Ganziano

Julie Garces

Christian Gazal

David Geddes, ASC, CSC

Jenny Gering

David Gersh

Kiki Giet

John Gilbert

Megan Gill

Alan Gilmore

Dana E. Glauberman, ACE

Catherine Goldschmidt

John P. Goldsmith

Jess Gonchor

Nikoya G Gonzalez

Ben Goodman

Hamish Gough

David Grace

Jacques Gravett, ACE

Rick Grayson

Clay Griffith

Heather Griffith

John Guleserian

Theresa Guleserian

Banner Gwin

Debbie Haeusler

Andrew Hafitz

Barbara Halperin

Michael Hanan

Caroline Hanania

Scott Hanson, ACE

Clayton Hartley

Pavlina Hatoupis

Lee Haugen

Ashley Heathcock

Betsy Heimann

Bill Henry, ACE

Jon Henson

Sandra Hernandez

Scott Hill, ACE

Kathryn Himoff, ACE

Marcia Hinds

Paul Hirsch, ACE

Sunny Hodge

Christian Hoffman, ACE

Robert Hoffman

Lisa Holguin

Susannah H. Honey

Phyllis Housen

Maysie Hoy, ACE

Lynarion Hubbard

Michelle Hunter

Nick Huoy, ACE

Mark Hutman

Alberto Iglesias

Kim Jennings

Maren Jensen

Allyson C. Johnson, ACE

Jonsi

Bengt Jönsson

Georgia Kacandes

Corey Kaplan

Michael Kaplan

Meghan Kasperlik

Kenji Katori, AMC

Myron Kerstein, ACE

Lilly Kilvert

Robb Wilson King

Natalie Kingston

Jamie Kirkpatrick

Valerie Klarich

Bill Klayer

Elizabeth Kling

Akis Konstantakopoulos, GSC

Eric Koretz

Petra Korner

Jeffrey Kurland

Ben Kutchins

Serge Ladouceur, CSC

Chris Lavasseur

Melissa Lawson Cheung

Dan Leigh

Mara Lepere-Schloop

Deven Letendre

Peter Levy, ASC, ACS

George Liddle

Barbara Ling

Jody Lee Lipes, ASC

Felicia Livingston

Gordon Lonsdale, ASC

John Lord Booth

Nick Lundy

Giao-Chau Ly

Susan Lyall

Jonathan Lynn

Glen A. Macpherson, ASC, CSC

Molly Maginnis

Will Maloney

Denis Maloney, ASC

Mikki Mamaril

Rudy Mance

John Mangia

Devin Mann

Mark Manos, ACE

Duane Manwiller

Pamela March

Tom Marquardt

Kindra Marra

Steve Mason, ACS

Daniele Massaccesi

Arthur Max

Ina Mayhew

Stephen McCabe

Adam McDaid

Michael McDonough, ASC

Alex McDowell

Amy McGrath

Billyray McKenna

Akin McKenzie

Olivia McManus

Peter McNulty

Stephen McNutt, ASC, CSC

Robert Mead

Alejandro Mejia, AMC

Peter Menzies Jr.

Michael R. Miller, ACE

Paul Millspaugh, ACE

Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC

Craig Mizrahi

Eloi Moli Aec

Kramer Morgenthau, ASC

Alana Morshead

Peter Mosiman

John Mott

Franzis Muller

Karen Murphy

Fred Murphy, ACE

Holland Murray

Ann Murtha

Ariana Nakata

Guillermo Navarro, AMC, ASC

Keith Neely

Mikkel E.G. Neilsen, ACE

Christopher Nelson, ACE

Alex Nepomniaschy, ASC

John Newby, ASC

John Nguyen

David Nicksay

Anne Nikitin

Vern Nobles, ASC

Toby Oliver, ACS

Trent Opaloch

Nate Orloff

Tim Orr

Tommaso Ortino

Stefano Ortolani

Abby O’sullivan

Antonio Paladino

Lyn Paolo

Ron Patane, ACE

Victoria Paul

Arianne Phillips

Dean Pollack

Lahly Poore-Ericson

Sean Porter

Martin Preiss

Jaron Presant, ASC

Jake Pushinsky, ACE

Carol Ramsey

Fred Raskin, ACE

O’Shea Read

Adam Reamer

Sarah C. Reeves

Luke Reichle

Joe Reidy

Fernando Reyes-Allendes, AMC

Andrew Reznik

Shane Richardson

Geoffrey Richman, ACE

Lisa Rinzler

Lesley Robson Foster

Bill Roe, ASC

Meghan C. Rogers

Pete Romano, ASC

Patricia Rommel

Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir

Cecilia Roque

Steven Rosenblum, ACE

Amy Roth

Beth Rubino

Michael Ruscio, ACE

Josh Saideman

David Salter, ACE

Roland Sanchez

Ron Sanders, CCE, ACE

Pietro Scalia

Glen Scantlebury, ACE

Roberto Schaefer

Wedigo Schultzendorff

John Schwartzman, ASC

Deborah Scott

Ian Seabrook

John Seale, ASC, ACS

Christian Sebaldt

Tari Segal

Nanu Segal, BSC

Dean Semler, ASC, ACS

Luis Sequeira

Bob S Shaw

Naomi Shohan

Terilyn A. Shropshire, ACE

Adam Silver

Enzo Sisti

Charlie Skouras

Spyros Skouras

Grant Smith

David L. Snyder

Joan Sobel, ACE

Tim Squyres, ACE

Zach Staenberg, ACE

Jeremy Stanbridge

Thomas Scott Stanton

Craig Stearns

Eve Stewart

Melissa Stewart

Adam Stockhausen

Tom Struthers

Robb Sullivan

Cynthia Summers

Paul Swain

Peggy Tachdjian

Yasu Tanida, ASC

Anna Terrazas

Brent Thomas

Dylan Tichenor, ACE

Tink

John Toll, ASC

Camilla Toniolo

Liz Toonkel

Melissa Toth

Clayton Townsend

Patrick Tuck

Karoliina Tuovinen

Scott Turner

Sandra Valde-Hansen

Becky Valente

Theo Van De Sande, ASC

Gregory Van Horn

Javiera Varas

Roger Vernon

Christine Wada

Bill Wages, ASC

Kasia Walicka Maimone

Joe Walker

Jan Walker

Melissa Walker

Peter Walpole

David Walsh Heinz

Mark Warner, ACE

David Wasco

Sandy Wasco

Korey Washington

Dennis Washington

Loren Weeks

Ari Wegner, ACS

Pixie Wespiser

Amy Wheeler

Anastasia White

Wendy Williams

Alexander Witt, ASC

Dariusz Wolski

Mark Worthington

Ed Wu

Ray Yamagata

Robert Yeoman, ASC

Mira Yong

Alexis Zabe, AMC, ASC

Lauren Zak

Haris Zambarloukos, BSC, GSC

Dan Zimmerman, ACE

Sonia Zimmerman Costa

Tim Zuhrstedt, ASC

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