The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has defended its annual In Memoriam selection process after the 98th Academy Awards ceremony drew immediate backlash on social media for leaving out several well-known actors from its televised tribute, including Eric Dane, James Van Der Beek, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and French screen icon Brigitte Bardot.
This year’s segment ran for 15 minutes, one of the longest in the ceremony’s history, and was extended by producers because of the exceptional number of prominent deaths over the past year, including those of director Rob Reiner, actress Diane Keaton and actor Robert Redford, each of whom received dedicated individual tributes on the broadcast.
Despite the extended running time, several actors with notable film careers were not included in the televised montage. Dane, who died on February 19 at 53 after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), appeared in films including X-Men: The Last Stand, Marley and Me, Valentine’s Day and Burlesque alongside his long-running television work. Van Der Beek, who died on February 11 at 48 from colorectal cancer, was best known for his television work but also starred in the 1999 sports drama Varsity Blues. Both were included on the Academy’s extended online memorial list, as were Warner, Bardot and others.
Other names absent from the broadcast but listed on the Academy’s website included Robert Carradine, June Lockhart, George Wendt, Julian McMahon, Loretta Swit and Demond Wilson.
A source familiar with the Academy’s process, speaking to entertainment media without authorisation to be named, said an executive committee drawn from the organisation’s various branches reviews hundreds of submissions each year from families, colleagues and industry figures, and makes recommendations based on available broadcast time. All submitted names are published on the Academy’s website regardless of whether they appear on the telecast.
The controversy is a recurring one at the Oscars. Last year’s ceremony drew similar criticism when actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who died just before the ceremony, and actors Tony Todd, Chance Perdomo and Olivia Hussey were left out of the broadcast tribute.
