PETALING JAYA, Feb 22 — The 91st Academy Awards will not be broadcast “live” in South-east Asia, except Thailand, with no regional player having secured the rights to air the show.
Satellite TV broadcaster, Astro — home to the Oscar through the years through its partner channels — confirmed with Malay Mail that Malaysians will not be able to catch Oscars action.
Astro Director of Content Agnes Rozario said the Oscars will not be broadcast in South-east Asia with one exception in Thailand.
“We are disappointed that none of the regional channels were able to reach an agreement with the rights holders but understand that the niche appeal of the Oscars with declining viewership did not justify the costs for this property.”
Astro partner channel, HBO, who last held the rights to air the Oscars regionally, chose to remain mum on not securing the rights to this year’s broadcast when contacted.
A consolation, however, is Malaysians can tune in to watch the stars on the red carpet on Red Carpet Rundown: Oscars 2019 on E! Entertainment (Astro CH712) at 8am on February 25 in a run-up to the main show.
The Oscars has been fraught with controversy this year, impeding its plans to comeback from the lowest viewership ever for the show to date last year, with a 19 per cent drop from the 2017 ceremony.
With no live (or even delayed telecast) of the show in the region, and with numerous controversies looming days to go before the biggest celebration of film in the world, can the Oscars recover?
Oscar 2019 — the controversies:
Declining ratings and salvaging popularity
While ratings plunged lower than Hollywood’s neckline on the Oscar red carpet, attempts to ensure eyeballs included the controversial addition of a Popular Film category — seen as a consolation for fan favourites like Black Panther to not go home with Best Picture.
It was later scrapped, and Black Panther made the cut for Best Picture noms.
No host
Actor Kevin Hart stepped down shortly after he was announced to have landed the gig to host the show due to past homophobic remarks and similar quips from way back, and refused to apologise — leading organisers to settle for a hostless Oscars, for the first time in 30 years.
Presenting... a mess
Oscars vied for more eyeballs, ditching tradition of past winners presenting their categories, opting for popular names with no nominations.
After backlash, the Academy announced the next day winners Gary Oldman, Allison Janney, Frances McDormand, and Sam Rockwell would return to present their respective categories.
Unworthy
Four awards categories were cut from the “live” show — namely for cinematography, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, and live-action short categories which led to Hollywood up in arms over the decision.
Again, the Academy went back on its own decision and decided to go back to how things have been done by reincluding the categories in the live show.
Tuned out
The “live” show also nixed nominated songs from the show, then reinstated them.
Originally, the plan was to feature only two out of the five Best Original Song nominees: Shallow from A Star Is Born and All The Stars from Black Panther.
After much ado, the Academy back-pedalled and announced the inclusion of all five performances on Twitter and, confusingly, an additional music performance from Queen and Adam Lambert in honour of Bohemian Rhapsody.
It was announced that Jennifer Hudson will sing I’ll Fight from RBG, and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will perform When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
An unnamed guest performer will also sing The Place Where Lost Things Go from Mary Poppins Returns.
Controversial nominations
Even nominees were not spared.
Green Book, based on true events surrounding queer black classical musician Dr Don Shirley has the individual's family saying the movie was based on a “symphony of lies.”
Director Peter Farrelly defended his effort, and also his need to flash his privates in an unrelated case, as the film's cowriter Nick Vallelonga apologised for anti-Muslim statements.
Star Viggo Mortensen, up for Best Actor, also caught heat for using the N-word while promoting the film.
Meanwhile, Bryan Singer, director of Bohemian Rhapsody, will be missing after his name was dropped after he was fired a few weeks before the movie finished shooting amidst sexual misconduct allegations involving teenage boys.
Detainment, the nominated short film based on the real-life abduction and murder of two-year-old James Bulger, sparked outrage when his mother, Denise Fergus, felt it was sympathetic to her son's killers.
Where have the women gone?
Despite no shortage of talents, there is no female Best Director nominee this year.
Only five female directors have ever been nominated for Best Director at the Oscars, and Kathryn Bigelow has been the only female winner, for The Hurt Locker in 2010.
