Steven Soderbergh.Photo: ABC via GettySteven Soderbergh, one of the producers behind the2021 Academy Awards, is addressing this year’s controversial decision to change the order of trophies presented at the show.Speaking with theLos Angeles Timesfor an interview published Tuesday, the longtime Hollywood director and producer touched on the unexpected choice to place theBest Actress and Best Actor categories lastduring the broadcast — a slot usually reserved for Best Picture.“It’s our belief — that I think is not unfounded — that actors' speeches tend to be more dramatic than producers' speeches. And so we thought it might be fun to mix it up, especially if people didn’t know that was coming,” said Soderbergh, 58, who served as producer for this year’s show alongside Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher.He said the shift “was something we were going to do well before the nominations came out,” as they “talked about [it] in January.” (Thenominations were announcedin March, whilethe Oscarsaired April 25.)“That was always part of the plan,” Soderbergh shared. “And then when the nominations came out and there was even the possibility thatChadwick [Boseman]could win posthumously, our feeling was if he were to win andhis widow were to speak on his behalf, there would be nowhere to go after that. So we stuck with it.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Anthony Hopkins (L); Chadwick Boseman.Greg Doherty/Getty Images; Alexander Tamargo/Getty ImagesFor the last category of the night,Anthony Hopkinsnabbed theBest Actor trophyover a group of nominees that included the late Boseman, whom many considered the frontrunner in the category following hisGolden GlobeandScreen Actors Guildaward wins forbest actor in a motion picture, drama, for his role inMa Rainey’s Black Bottom.“I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early,” Hopkins, 83, said in hisacceptance speech on social mediaafter the ceremony, having beenasleep in his home country of Walesduring the show. “And again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this. So I feel very privileged and honored.“During this year’s awards season, Boseman’s wifeSimone Ledward Bosemanaccepted theSAG,Golden Globe,NAACP,GothamandCritics Choice Awardsin his honor.“If there was even the sliver of a chance that he would win and that his widow would speak, then we were operating under the fact that was the end of the show,” Soderbergh told theTimes. “So it wasn’t like we assumed it would, but if there was even a possibility that it would happen, then you have to account for that.“RELATED VIDEO: Women Make History at the 2021 Oscars"That would have been such a shattering moment, that to come back after that would have been just impossible,” he added.In arecent interview withVariety, ABC’s Rob Mills, executive VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, explained thatthe show’s abrupt ending was a “calculated risk"that was “not meant to end on somebody who was not present.""[But] I think [it] still paid off because everybody was talking about it,” he continued. “Similarly,nobody wants the wrong envelope to happen, like it did three years ago, but everyone was talking about it. I think some people thought maybe they missed some awards. ‘Why is Best Picture early?’ or, ‘What’s happening, this is crazy,’ almost like, ‘How can this possibly happen? Best Picture has to end it!’ ““Some people were upset, some people loved it and that was really the point that there was no apathy,” Mills said.
Steven Soderbergh.Photo: ABC via Getty
Steven Soderbergh, one of the producers behind the2021 Academy Awards, is addressing this year’s controversial decision to change the order of trophies presented at the show.Speaking with theLos Angeles Timesfor an interview published Tuesday, the longtime Hollywood director and producer touched on the unexpected choice to place theBest Actress and Best Actor categories lastduring the broadcast — a slot usually reserved for Best Picture.“It’s our belief — that I think is not unfounded — that actors' speeches tend to be more dramatic than producers' speeches. And so we thought it might be fun to mix it up, especially if people didn’t know that was coming,” said Soderbergh, 58, who served as producer for this year’s show alongside Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher.He said the shift “was something we were going to do well before the nominations came out,” as they “talked about [it] in January.” (Thenominations were announcedin March, whilethe Oscarsaired April 25.)“That was always part of the plan,” Soderbergh shared. “And then when the nominations came out and there was even the possibility thatChadwick [Boseman]could win posthumously, our feeling was if he were to win andhis widow were to speak on his behalf, there would be nowhere to go after that. So we stuck with it.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Anthony Hopkins (L); Chadwick Boseman.Greg Doherty/Getty Images; Alexander Tamargo/Getty ImagesFor the last category of the night,Anthony Hopkinsnabbed theBest Actor trophyover a group of nominees that included the late Boseman, whom many considered the frontrunner in the category following hisGolden GlobeandScreen Actors Guildaward wins forbest actor in a motion picture, drama, for his role inMa Rainey’s Black Bottom.“I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early,” Hopkins, 83, said in hisacceptance speech on social mediaafter the ceremony, having beenasleep in his home country of Walesduring the show. “And again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this. So I feel very privileged and honored.“During this year’s awards season, Boseman’s wifeSimone Ledward Bosemanaccepted theSAG,Golden Globe,NAACP,GothamandCritics Choice Awardsin his honor.“If there was even the sliver of a chance that he would win and that his widow would speak, then we were operating under the fact that was the end of the show,” Soderbergh told theTimes. “So it wasn’t like we assumed it would, but if there was even a possibility that it would happen, then you have to account for that.“RELATED VIDEO: Women Make History at the 2021 Oscars"That would have been such a shattering moment, that to come back after that would have been just impossible,” he added.In arecent interview withVariety, ABC’s Rob Mills, executive VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, explained thatthe show’s abrupt ending was a “calculated risk"that was “not meant to end on somebody who was not present.""[But] I think [it] still paid off because everybody was talking about it,” he continued. “Similarly,nobody wants the wrong envelope to happen, like it did three years ago, but everyone was talking about it. I think some people thought maybe they missed some awards. ‘Why is Best Picture early?’ or, ‘What’s happening, this is crazy,’ almost like, ‘How can this possibly happen? Best Picture has to end it!’ ““Some people were upset, some people loved it and that was really the point that there was no apathy,” Mills said.
Steven Soderbergh, one of the producers behind the2021 Academy Awards, is addressing this year’s controversial decision to change the order of trophies presented at the show.
Speaking with theLos Angeles Timesfor an interview published Tuesday, the longtime Hollywood director and producer touched on the unexpected choice to place theBest Actress and Best Actor categories lastduring the broadcast — a slot usually reserved for Best Picture.
“It’s our belief — that I think is not unfounded — that actors' speeches tend to be more dramatic than producers' speeches. And so we thought it might be fun to mix it up, especially if people didn’t know that was coming,” said Soderbergh, 58, who served as producer for this year’s show alongside Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher.
He said the shift “was something we were going to do well before the nominations came out,” as they “talked about [it] in January.” (Thenominations were announcedin March, whilethe Oscarsaired April 25.)
“That was always part of the plan,” Soderbergh shared. “And then when the nominations came out and there was even the possibility thatChadwick [Boseman]could win posthumously, our feeling was if he were to win andhis widow were to speak on his behalf, there would be nowhere to go after that. So we stuck with it.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Anthony Hopkins (L); Chadwick Boseman.Greg Doherty/Getty Images; Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images
For the last category of the night,Anthony Hopkinsnabbed theBest Actor trophyover a group of nominees that included the late Boseman, whom many considered the frontrunner in the category following hisGolden GlobeandScreen Actors Guildaward wins forbest actor in a motion picture, drama, for his role inMa Rainey’s Black Bottom.
“I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early,” Hopkins, 83, said in hisacceptance speech on social mediaafter the ceremony, having beenasleep in his home country of Walesduring the show. “And again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this. So I feel very privileged and honored.”
During this year’s awards season, Boseman’s wifeSimone Ledward Bosemanaccepted theSAG,Golden Globe,NAACP,GothamandCritics Choice Awardsin his honor.
“If there was even the sliver of a chance that he would win and that his widow would speak, then we were operating under the fact that was the end of the show,” Soderbergh told theTimes. “So it wasn’t like we assumed it would, but if there was even a possibility that it would happen, then you have to account for that.”
RELATED VIDEO: Women Make History at the 2021 Oscars
“That would have been such a shattering moment, that to come back after that would have been just impossible,” he added.
In arecent interview withVariety, ABC’s Rob Mills, executive VP of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, explained thatthe show’s abrupt ending was a “calculated risk"that was “not meant to end on somebody who was not present.”
“[But] I think [it] still paid off because everybody was talking about it,” he continued. “Similarly,nobody wants the wrong envelope to happen, like it did three years ago, but everyone was talking about it. I think some people thought maybe they missed some awards. ‘Why is Best Picture early?’ or, ‘What’s happening, this is crazy,’ almost like, ‘How can this possibly happen? Best Picture has to end it!’ "
“Some people were upset, some people loved it and that was really the point that there was no apathy,” Mills said.
source: people.com
