Coronavirus and the Oscars

[anonymous1980]

The Academy is currently evaluating how this pandemic will impact eligibility for next year's Oscars.

It seems there are two main things being considered at least just for this year: Allowing films that debut on VOD to be eligible or moving the eligibility deadline by a few weeks or a combination of the two.

[Mister Tee]

I think we have to consider the possibility this becomes a year without movies. Pretty much all filming halted this week. At this point, god knows when they'll get back to work -- it might not be till mid-summer or later. Meaning, much of what was in production is unlikely to be ready for release this year. This probably means the bulk of the films that would have been in contention for major awards. Yes: this is Netflix's golden opportunity. But I seriously doubt the rest of the industry would simply opt for streaming; I don't see them forgoing the substantial earnings an eventual theatrical release would bring. (Besides, they'll need product to fill theatres once this thing is finally past -- whenever that is.)

Clearly the Tonys are a more immediate mess, and one for which I can see no solution. I'm not even sure how many of the shows that were poised to open between now and the traditional deadline will still be on the schedule when this shakes out -- some packages may simply fall apart, or move to another season. It obviously makes a difference whether we go back to normal on, say, May 1st, or if it's September 1st -- but, either way, I don't see a Tony show this year.

This truly is a time without precedent. We'll very possibly have a year with no NBA, NHL, even maybe MLB champ; no racing Triple Crown; no Olympics -- nothing, even world wars, has ever wiped the landscape clean like that.

Maybe I'm alarmist. Maybe it's all over by June, and life resumes as before. But the way this has gone so far, it's safer to bet the over.

[Big Magilla]

It's too soon to tell.

If major releases keep getting pushed back, it's possible, but it's also possible that AMPAS will change its ruling regarding streaming and allow film released via streaming only to compete in which case you will see more studios release films that way. If this lasts through the year and into next year, as some are predicting, it could change the way films other than blockbusters are released forever.

Of more immediate concern (to some of us anyway) are the Tonys. I can see Broadway awards shifting to a calendar year awards basis like the Oscars did in 1933 with 2020 eligibility running from April of 2019 through December 2020. If this drags on through the summer, then the Emmys might be inclined to do the same thing.

[anonymous1980]

Cannes seems very likely to be cancelled this year if things don't improve drastically within the next couple of weeks. If things get REALLY bad, the fall festivals could follow. A lot of movie theaters around the world are closed and studios are postponing their major releases. With all these things happening, how do you guys think this will affect next year's Oscar race?