Murder, flood, epidemic: why the Oscar was postponed, which will take place off schedule in 2021
'14.01.2021'
Source: Newspaper.ru
The 2021 Academy Awards ceremony has been moved from February 28 to April 25. The reason for this decision was the restrictions introduced as part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Other cases when the organizers of the award had to postpone the ceremony, recalls Newspaper.ru.
Flood in Los Angeles, 1938
At the end of February, a powerful storm moved from the Pacific Ocean towards the San Gabriel Mountains. The flood killed 115 people and destroyed more than 5,6 thousand homes. All roads, including railways and bridges, were seriously damaged, many trees were uprooted, the area was disfigured, and cars were rendered unusable. Transport and telephone connections were interrupted for many days. Residents were left without power supply.
During the investigation, it was found that most of the force of the elements was taken over by the dam. Several more defenses were built over the years. And an improved canal system helped to avoid flooding in 1969.
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The 1938 flood was the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles.
Due to natural disasters, the Oscars were postponed from March 3 to March 10. At the ceremony that year, the awards were last presented in the categories Best Second Director and Best Dance Director. The best film was the biographical drama The Life of Emile Zola. For the first time in the history of the award, it was presented in ten nominations.
The assassination of Martin Luther King, 1968
After massive student protests and clashes with the police in the sixties, the Oscar leadership sought to diversify the list of their nominees. In 1968, two black actors - Quincy Jones and Bee Richards - applied for the award. In addition, two films were built around the theme of racial inequality: "Sweltering Southern Night" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."
African American rights leader Martin Luther King died in Memphis on April 4. A fugitive prisoner killed him with a rifle shot. Farewell to King was scheduled for April 8th. On the same day, the Academy awards were to be presented.
Actor Sammy Davis said in an interview that he refuses to perform on stage. It was followed by a refusal from Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong, Diane Carroll, Harry Belafonte and Marlon Brando.
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Many of them said they would go to the funeral and would not be able to attend the Oscars. Faced with similar circumstances, the leadership of the Academy decided to postpone the presentation of the awards for the second time. The Oscar was postponed for two days. At the ceremony itself, Academy President Gregory Peck began his opening address with condolences on the death of Martin Luther King.
The assassination attempt on Reagan, 1981
The decision to postpone the 1981 Oscar was made four hours before the start of the live broadcast. On the day the ceremony was supposed to take place, March 30, at 14:27 pm in Washington, an armed attempt was made on the life of President Ronald Reagan. John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots in the direction of the president as he left the hotel. One of the bullets hit the press secretary, the second - in the back of the police officer, the third wounded the secret service agent, two bullets flew past.
The last round ricocheted off Reagan's limousine and hit him in the chest, damaging a lung. Here is a video of this event:
The president recovered soon after the operation and returned to his duties. John Hinckley Jr. was detained almost immediately after the incident. One of his questions was: Will the Oscar be postponed? He admitted that he had committed a crime motivated by an obsession with actress Jodie Foster.
During the investigation it was established that Hinckley is a fan of Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" with Robert De Niro and Foster. The main character of the tape, which Hinckley revised many times, tried to make an attempt on the life of a presidential candidate according to the plot.
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“The final decision was to postpone the ceremony for a day. But while we conferred, no one knew if Reagan would survive. Ironically, it was Reagan who set the tone when he told the doctors in the operating room, "Please tell me that you are all Republicans." We decided that if the person who was shot can joke about it, then we are allowed to do the same, ”- recalled screenwriter Baz Koan.
The organizers planned to put on a tape with a recorded greeting for the guests of the ceremony from the president during the ceremony. However, an hour after filming for the ceremony on March 31 began, they announced that they would not be broadcasting a message from Reagan due to reports of his serious condition.
"We are not alone. The miracle of American technology connects us with millions of movie lovers around the world. It is the cinema that shows us not only how we look and sound, but also, and more importantly, what we feel, ”said the recording sent by Reagan.
Coronavirus pandemic 2021
The pandemic hit the Oscars at one of the most painful moments in the history of the award. In 2020, she updated her anti-rating record. The previous one was installed in 2018.
Despite the tightening of restrictive measures aimed at combating the coronavirus, the Oscar organizers continue to insist that they want to host the ceremony in a live format. However, there is still no official decision on this issue.
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Additional interest in the situation is added by the participation in the staging of the ceremony directed by Steven Soderbergh. This year, his film Contagion has earned the status of "prophetic." Soderbergh himself is known for his interest in technological innovation at work. Experts believe that the organizers can expect from him an unexpected way out of this situation.
The academy is to announce the nominees on March 15th. The ceremony will take place on April 25, not February 28, as originally planned. According to the Los Angeles Department of Health, about 1 new cases of coronavirus infection were recorded in the city on January 2-35.
