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The Oscars -

The annual awards ceremony put on by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences is the undisputed king of all film industry award ceremonies.

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Historical event -

Every year for the past 92 years the greats of the acting world have gathered together to celebrate each other’s successes.

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Controversy -

At times controversial, the event is easily the most buzzed about entertainment event of the year (although TV viewing figures have declined in recent years).

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Statistics -

In 2014, Twitter released statistics to show that tweets about the event that year were viewed 3.3 billion times worldwide.

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Famous selfie -

In that same year, Ellen DeGeneres tweeted a selfie with a number of famous faces and it became the most retweeted picture ever to grace the site.

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Oscars 2021 -

Of course, with the global COVID-19 pandemic still at large, the Oscars ceremony is set to look a little different in 2021.

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New dates -

The 2021 Oscars will take place on April 25—their latest date in history—rather than in February. Now February 28, the day the event was supposed to take place, is the cut off period for eligibility, so films that came out in the early days of 2021 will be considered for this year's awards.

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Cutting filmmakers some slack -

The Academy released a statement celebrating the importance of films entertaining and inspiring us in dark times, and said, "Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control.” 

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The Grammys were encouraging -

There is still a lot of uncertainty about how the pandemic will progress, but the Grammy Awards did successfully hold a scaled-down physical event outdoors which gives hope for a good Oscars show. 

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It won't be online like the 2020 Emmys - “The Oscars in-person telecast will happen,” a representative for the Academy confirmed to Variety in December, contradicting reports that the Oscars would take a similar format to the Emmys.

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A hybrid event -

They may also look at the possibility of a hybrid event, drawing inspiration from the European Film Awards, which took place in December 2020.

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Physical attendance -

The European Film Awards were hosted from the Futurium building in Berlin, but the only people in physical attendance were the hosts and the winners were congratulated online. 

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Virtual attendance at the Critics Choice Awards -

Many stars attended the 2021 Critics Choice Awards virtually as well, leading to some pretty dressed-down fashion.

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The Oscars will still be in Los Angeles -

The event is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. 

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Steven Soderbergh -

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh has been appointed to “re-envision” the ceremony in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Steven Soderbergh -

The American director, who is best known for his films ‘Erin Brockovich,’ ‘Contagion,’ and ‘Traffic,’ said that he and his collaborators were “thrilled and terrified” by the challenge.

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Statement -

They gave a statement explaining that, “Because of the situation we’re all in, there’s an opportunity to focus on the movies and the people who make them in a new way.”

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High-profile event -

Many players are hoping for a high-profile event that will give the industry the boost it needs after such a difficult year.

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Statement -

According to Mike Downey, the purpose of an awards ceremony now “is to demonstrate that cinema is still alive, and to paraphrase a quote, reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

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Oscar bounce -

Many filmmakers are surely hoping for a high-profile event, since history tells us this can do wonders for ticket sales.

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'Parasite' -

According to Comscore, box-office sales for Bong Joon-Ho’s ‘Parasite’ went up by 79% after its Best Picture nomination at the Oscars in 2020.

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Harsh reality -

Hosting a physical event will inevitably raise the profile of the Oscars ceremony in 2021, but even so the reality is that there won’t be so much of a buildup as normal.

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Buildup -

The traditional excitement that builds throughout January as nominees gather at parties, photo calls, and other red carpet events won’t be so tangible this year.

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Netflix -

There is one Oscars contender that stands to benefit from the pandemic, however, and that’s Netflix. With people confined to their homes, Netflix has enjoyed greater film success.

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High-profile releases -

Netflix has had a number of high-profile releases in 2020, including David Fincher’s ‘Mank’ and Spike Lee’s ‘Da 5 Bloods.’

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'The Prom' -

It was also Netflix that put out the musical comedy-drama ‘The Prom,’ which, according to Meryl Streep, is “a big embrace of a film that we need at this time in the world.”

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Diversity -

In addition to the projected greater visibility for Netflix, the 2021 Oscars are shaping up to be a more diverse ceremony than in previous years.

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Diversity -

The voting body for 2021 has 819 new members, 45% of whom are women and 36% of whom are not white.

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Broadcast -

The event will be broadcast on the ABC TV network in the US, as well as in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. 

Sources: (BBC) (Variety)

See also: The Oscars make diversity a requirement to win, and other historic Academy moments

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