It may have just gotten slightly easier to attend this year’s Oscars—that is, if you’re already a nominee. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is reportedly softening its requirement for nominees to attend the ceremony in person this year despite the pandemic. All of the nominees have been invited to a “conversation” with show producers Stacey Sher, Jesse Collins, and Steven Soderbergh over Zoom, where they will receive “updates about the show,” including information about how to participate in the ceremony remotely. The show itself is set to air on ABC on April 25 at 8 p.m. ET.
The decision to relax the Zoom ban comes after AMPAS faced criticism for asking nominees to either attend the ceremony live or not at all. Sticking to this rule would have made it difficult, if not impossible, for many nominees to participate in the ceremony, as COVID-19 surges in Europe and other parts of the world have effectively put the kibosh on nonessential travel. According to THR, many nominees expressed deep concern about potentially not being able to attend the Oscars due to the in-person mandate, as well as worry about the “significant financial burdens” associated with quarantine requirements on both sides of travel.
As for other changes to this year’s pandemic ceremony, Variety reports that producers are considering a plan that would involve rotating nominees and presenters into and out of the designated area where the awards are given out. Cleaning crews would sanitize the area in between each crop of in-person attendees. The 2021 Grammy ceremony invoked a similar plan, which involved circulating pods of nominees and performers into and out of the audience in four separate groups roughly every 45 minutes.
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