ACE Pushes Back Against Academy For Short Shrift Given To Editors, Other Artists At Oscars Ceremony

American Cinema Editors (ACE) has released a video statement on its website expressing anger over the presentation of film editing and seven other categories as pre-taped segments during the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. The 56-second video opens with a quote from Francis Ford Coppola: “The essence of cinema is editing,” and reads:

“A Message From American Cinema Editors to The Academy. This year’s Academy Awards ceremony left film editors and many other essential artists on the cutting room floor of cinematic history. We feel cheated, insulted and angry by the way our art was deemed superfluous in favor of bloated performances and spectacle. ACE calls on production designers, set decorators, costume designers, composers, makeup/hair stylists, short-film creators, sound artists and all creative disciplines to join us in demanding fairness and inclusiveness. Give us a voice in this process. Let us work together to find a solution that truly honors filmmaking and assure this never happens again.”
 
The video statement reflects the sentiment of ACE’s 1,000+ members who have expressed to the ACE Board of Directors that they felt film editing was not treated with the dignity deserved and that these artists were treated as second-class citizens and denied the celebratory experience that other winners had. Their speeches were cut down. They had to show up early and accept their awards in front of seat-fillers instead of their friends, colleagues and peers. Their wins ended up on social media prior to being integrated into the telecast. Not only were their speeches cut, but the Academy distributed links to press of the edited speeches, rather than the full ones. Josh Brolin’s eloquent introduction to the craft of editing was also cut. A number of people felt that the broadcast was rife with choppy transitions and awkward cut-away shots during the affected categories, only highlighting the odd and insulting circumstances these winners were subjected to.  ACE hopes to add its voice to finding a solution so that future ceremonies will reflect a more inclusive and meaningful celebration of filmmaking.