The upcoming Academy Awards are set to look quite a bit different than they have in previous years, but not so different that viewers will see acceptance speeches being made over Zoom. The ceremonies producers, Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh, announced in a letter sent out to nominees Friday that the “intimate” event being hosted at both the Dolby Theater and Union Station Los Angeles, would not be allowing remote acceptance speeches.
“For those of you unable to attend because of scheduling or continued uneasiness about traveling, we want you to know there will not be an option to Zoom in for the show,” the letter reads. “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.”
The Oscars are set to air April 25. The letter sent to nominees also detailed the safety precautions being taken to ensure a safe ceremony during the ongoing pandemic.
“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. There will be specific instructions for those of you traveling in from outside of Los Angeles, and other instructions for those of you who are already based in Los Angeles. This will all come directly to you from the Academy to ensure you have a safe, carefree evening (a glimpse of the future?).”
So far, no host has been announced for the awards show. The Oscars also chose not to have a host for the 2020 and 2019 ceremonies.