'Outlander' Actress Caitriona Balfe Slams Oscars For Its Decision To Present Four Awards During Commercial Breaks
No one can stop Outlander actress Caitriona Balfe for speaking her mind. The lead female star of the Starz drama has slammed The Academy Awards for its decision to present four awards during commercial breaks.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced this week that the 2019 Oscars will be squeezed in three hours. Therefore, some awards will be handed out during commercial breaks. The four awards that will not be seen on air are Cinematography, Editing, Hair and Makeup, and Live Action Shorts. The speeches of the winners will likewise be aired later in the broadcast.
Balfe did not shy away from expressing her disappointment of The Academy's decision and even called it "f**ked up decisions." In her series of tweets about The Academy's announcement, the actress fumingly expressed why each award is equally important to everyone that is involved in film making.
"Moviemaking is a collaborative experience with each and every cog in the wheel playing an essential role in the making of whatever project. No one part of the endeavor is more important or more valuable than the rest," the actress stressed.
Balfe added that if The Academy deems the people behind a movie deserve to get a nomination, they should also receive the same amount of respect when they receive the award. The actress added that an award-giving body that demeans the essential roles of the people who work behind the camera are the ones who don't understand the filmmaking process.
Meanwhile, Caitriona Balfe is not the only one who is criticizing The Academy for its decision. Some Hollywood A-listers have also expressed their disappointment about it.
Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe, directors Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón, and three-time Oscar winner cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki have also spoken out about their disgust of the recent announcement from this year's Oscars. Del Toro said editing and cinematography are the backbones of the movie industry. The award-winning director won the Oscars' Best Director and Best Picture last year for his movie The Shape of Water.
Lubezki, on the other hand, stressed that cinematography and editing are the "primordial components of cinema." Lubezki has eight Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography. He won three and became the first person to do so in three consecutive years, for Gravity in 2013, Birdman in 2014, and The Revenant in 2015.
The Academy Awards have announced the list of nominees on Tuesday. The Favourite and Roma lead the list with 10 nods apiece. They are followed by A Star Is Born and Vice with eight each and Black Panther with seven. The awards night is scheduled to broadcast live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood on February 24.
