Oscars 2021 attendees will NOT wear face masks DURING telecast (2024)

The Academy will not be asking attendees of the 2021 Oscars to wear protective face masks as cameras are rolling during the live ceremony this Sunday, April 25 according to a new report.

During a Zoom meeting on Monday morning with Academy reps and nominees as well as studio and personal publicists it was announced that the event is being treated as a TV/film production thus nominees, their guests, presenters, and other attendees will not be required to wear masks according to a report from Variety.

However when guests are not on camera, they will be asked to wear masks for instance they are to be put on during commercial breaks at the 93rd Academy Award being held at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

The Academy also revealed that audience capacity will be capped to 170 people with those in the crowd being rotated in and out of the ceremony according to the weekly magazine.

No doubt organizers are sparing no expense to keep guests as safe as possible as a third of the production budget has been allotted to COVID-19 safety protocols according to the New York Timeson Sunday as they have remained steadfast in their decision to prevent the show being done over Zoom.

As the video communication software has been a major part of award shows over he past year, there have been many questions how the ceremony will be handled as organizers have revealed there will even be a cinematic quality to the event.

Producers of this Sunday's Oscars also have recently warned that speeches may be even longer than before, giving the orchestra a well-earned rest when it comes to drowning out the endless list of thank-you's.

The Academy Awards will mark the first time Tinseltown's finest have assembled in over a year, for a three-hour show that co-producer Steven Soderbergh has described as being 'like a movie.'

Presenters including Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Halle Berry are said to be 'playing themselves, or at least a version of themselves.'

However, the Contagion director - who has won seven Oscars - also compared producing the ambitious event to 'trying to build an airplane while it's in the air.'

The delayed April 25 ceremony takes place barely a week after California opened vaccinations to all over-16s, with infection rates plummeting after a massive winter surge ripped through the state. Movie theaters are even reopening.

There is said to be a 'teeny-tiny' red carpet and no invitations for Hollywood's most powerful moguls, while there will be a 'central' role for masks - as organizers are taking no risks when it comes to COVID-19.

But the event still would have been 'impossible' to hold just weeks earlier, producers said Saturday.

Asked by AFP about the impact of the show's two-month postponement, Soderbergh, 58, said: 'It would have been impossible for us to do what we're gonna do... I don't know how we would have done it.

'This is the working definition of trying to build an airplane while it's in the air,' the director told a virtual press conference, adding that his experience of making films during the pandemic - and his 2011 thriller Contagion - had proven invaluable.

The ceremony will take place amid the 'physical grandeur' of Los Angeles's cavernous Union Station, with nominees mingling outdoors and then rotated in and out of the venue during the show.

The traditional red carpet will be dramatically downsized, and the guest list will be so limited that even powerful Disney boss Bob Iger 'won't be there,' said Soderbergh.

Speaking from the venue's courtyard - where only nominees, their plus ones, and a handful of presenters will chat and drink - Soderbergh said he hopes the Oscars will present the world 'a glimpse of what's going to be possible when most people are vaccinated, and rapid, accurate, cheap testing is the norm.'

'Masks are going to play a very important role in the story of this evening,' he added. 'If that's cryptic, it's meant to be -- but that topic is very central to the narrative.'

Soderbergh and fellow producers Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher are keeping many details under wraps, but said the unusual and 'hopefully unique' nature of a pandemic-era Oscars 'certainly opened up an opportunity to try some things that haven't been tried before.'

The ceremony will have 'the aesthetic of a film as opposed to a TV show,' including use of movie-like 'over-the-shoulder shots from within the audience' and high-resolution, widescreen formats, said Soderbergh.

Most nominees are expected to attend in person, with hubs in London and Paris set up allowing Europeans unable to travel due to restrictions to dial in - but only via slick, industry-standard satellite hookups, not Zoom.

Recent awards shows have been slammed for their heavy use of remote calling for nominees, particularly after Daniel Kaluuya briefly lost audio as he accepted his Golden Globe for best supporting actor in Judas And The Black Messiah.

'Zoom has been a great thing, we're on it constantly,' said Soderbergh. 'It's just in the context of this show... that doesn't really fit.'

Following the awards-show-as-a-movie concept, no host has been announced, but presenters - billed as the ceremony's 'cast' - will be 'playing themselves, or... a version of themselves.'

Previously announced A-list presenters include Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt and Reese Witherspoon, with more set to be unveiled before the show.

Nominees will be asked to share personal stories, in a show set to make extensive use of interviews.

'The stories have been incredible, so helpful to us,' said Soderbergh. 'And a wonderful archive - a snapshot of movies in 2020.'

However, all eyes will be on the viewers figures following the event, which has been on a dangerous slide the past few years.

So far, award shows during lockdown has been proving less than popular with audiences at home, after last month's Golden Globes suffered one of their worst yet.

Both the Golden Globes and the Grammys this year dropped more than 50% in viewers according to Nielson.

Last year's Oscars was already a historic low with viewing figured pegged at 23.6million, which TV execs are predicting this year's figure could be around 12-15million viewers, according to a report by the LA Times.

Ted Harbert, a former president of NBC and ABC, told the outlet last week: 'I think award shows have got a patina like a candlestick that is 100 years old and all the polish in the world is not going to bring it back.'