Oscars – In Memoriam 2020

[Keatonesque]

By all means, add who was left out below, as I'm sure they failed to include quite a few.

[daveboz]

Orson Bean.

[The Blackbird]

Once again Hollywood touches our hearts by paying tribute to all the marketing executives we lost this past year, but now they're in such a hurry to rush through things they're cramming two people into the same picture window. I'm waiting for agitators to complain the list wasn't racially diverse enough.

[buskeat]

I'm pleasantly surprised they included Machiko Kyo, Anna Karina and Bibi Andersson. But of course, the TCM death montage blows this one out of the water, always.

[drednm]

Not well done. The Academy made headlines for its decision to include movie titan Kirk Douglas and all they did was tack him on the end... no clips, no audio (can't interfere with the singer). The entire In Memoriam is now timed to whatever song is being performed.

Among those left out who had something to do with movies (no, they weren't movie stars) Valentina Cortese, Tim Conway, Katherine Helmond, Kaye Ballard, Michael J. Pollard, Luke Perry, Rene Auberjonois, Orson Bean.....

Was Michel LeGrand included?

[Fred M. Stevens]

The entire In Memoriam is now timed to whatever song is being performed.

Many presenters and performers get on only due to the strength of their agents or the publicity needs of their upcoming projects, as- in this case- when a certain 18 year old multi-Grammy winner has just been announced as the singer of the theme for the latest 007 melodrama. We can merely be thankful that the in memoriam dirge wasn’t handled by Rob Snow White Lowe or Eminem (whose representatives have doubtlessly earned a place in some future in memoriams). In the meantime, Fred Astaire need not yet be worrying.

[milefilms]

Wow, there's a lot of hate for Billie Eilish that I just don't understand. Have people seen her on Carpool Karaoke?


As for the Academy, there is a lot of back and forth to get everybody named and there is a lot of "conversation" to represent the diversity of jobs held by the Academy members. And yes, some of these people are loved by the Academy membership and not known to the public (like Ben Barenholz or Barbara Hammer) but a lot of people in the industry are moved by seeing them up there.

I can't always say that I agree with who's on and who's not, but I would NOT want to be on the committee who has to choose.

[drednm]

Wow, there's a lot of hate for Billie Eilish that I just don't understand. Have people seen her on Carpool Karaoke?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh2qGWfmESk

As for the Academy, there is a lot of back and forth to get everybody named and there is a lot of "conversation" to represent the diversity of jobs held by the Academy members. And yes, some of these people are loved by the Academy membership and not known to the public (like Ben Barenholz or Barbara Hammer) but a lot of people in the industry are moved by seeing them up there.

I can't always say that I agree with who's on and who's not, but I would NOT want to be on the committee who has to choose.

It says something that many people are more interested in the dead people than the live ones on stage.

[silentfilm]

I saw lots of criticism online for Kobe Bryant being included. The guy did win an Oscar as a producer of a documentary, and he was a beloved Los Angeles legend. The show is for the members of the Academy first; they televise it because the rest of the world is dying to see it.

[Brooksie]

There are always criticisms of who is and isn't included in the broadcast version - as others have observed, you just can't win - but in this case, I had more quibbles with the presentation itself. It seems they have the idea that we're more interested in the singer and the song than the people being honoured. Nobody - not even Kirk Douglas or Doris Day - were given a 'moment' to themselves, they just hovered over the performers' shoulders in a blink-and-miss it montage.

It seems endemic of the Oscars' current dilemma - throw everything at gaining an audience that currently isn't interested; either bore or alienate those who are. This year's ceremony was reportedly the least-watched in history, so whatever they're doing must be more wrong than right.

[missdupont]

The Academy explains on the Oscars.com site that a committee composed of people from every branch of the Academy goes through the list of those who have died to pick a cross sample with members from each branch. If you want the full photo list, here it is from the Oscars.com site, and it includes Bob Dorian:
https://oscar.go.com/photos/2020/oscars ... 9cc9cc6c67

[Harlowgold]

My biggest issue with it this year was the insane two-second, still-only moment given to Doris Day, one of the top ten box office stars of all time. I think it would be a good idea to just scrap the In Memoriam segment. There's too many behind the scenes people in it now and not enough faces that audiences would actually know. Not that these craftsmen don't deserve the honor but I'm sure every year there are several screenwriters, production artists, etc. with major credits who get passed over, it seems particularly unfair to single out some of them even more than when they do it to "stars". I don't believe the segment existed before 1980 and it's gotten to the point where it's basically a spot for the singer in segment more than a tribute to past people and hardly anyone is ever pleased with it so just let it go. We certainly know Hollywood is not sentimental.

[drednm]

My biggest issue with it this year was the insane two-second, still-only moment given to Doris Day, one of the top ten box office stars of all time. I think it would be a good idea to just scrap the In Memoriam segment. There's too many behind the scenes people in it now and not enough faces that audiences would actually know. Not that these craftsmen don't deserve the honor but I'm sure every year there are several screenwriters, production artists, etc. with major credits who get passed over, it seems particularly unfair to single out some of them even more than when they do it to "stars". I don't believe the segment existed before 1980 and it's gotten to the point where it's basically a spot for the singer in segment more than a tribute to past people and hardly anyone is ever pleased with it so just let it go. We certainly know Hollywood is not sentimental.

I agree. They already shunted the honorary Oscars to the luncheon boonies. They might as well dump this segment also.

[Keatonesque]

My biggest issue with it this year was the insane two-second, still-only moment given to Doris Day, one of the top ten box office stars of all time. I think it would be a good idea to just scrap the In Memoriam segment. There's too many behind the scenes people in it now and not enough faces that audiences would actually know. Not that these craftsmen don't deserve the honor but I'm sure every year there are several screenwriters, production artists, etc. with major credits who get passed over, it seems particularly unfair to single out some of them even more than when they do it to "stars". I don't believe the segment existed before 1980 and it's gotten to the point where it's basically a spot for the singer in segment more than a tribute to past people and hardly anyone is ever pleased with it so just let it go. We certainly know Hollywood is not sentimental.

I agree. They already shunted the honorary Oscars to the luncheon boonies. They might as well dump this segment also.

And the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award too. They also gave the two-second treatment to Stanley Donen, who was the last living director from the Golden Age, and if you blinked, you missed it.

[Brooksie]

On a related note - who was tickled to hear Doug Fairbanks' name come up during the ceremony? I sure was.

[Zool]

I’m surprised they added Kobe Bryant and Kirk Douglas as they both died in early 2020, not 2019.

The biggest problem for me with this tribute was the song itself. “Yesterday” is not a song about lost lives, but lost love. Like when James Taylor sang “In My Life.” A song about love reborn isn’t for a memorial tribute. “I’ll Be Seeing You” sung by Queen Latifah was the best the Academy ever had. Perfect song for the occasion done beautifully.... Maybe it’s time for them to bring her or Yo Yo Ma back.

These tributes get worse and worse year after year. They’re not even trying anymore.

[Battra92]

So you guys are the dozen or so who actually watched the Oscars.

I don't have any love for the current entertainment industry and including Kobe Bryant (who is now a saint for some reason) being included reminds me of how little the Academy really cares.

TCM at least has people who care about movies. The Academy Awards are for people who enjoy pleasing the sleazebags around them.

[Zool]

I loved Joaquin Phoenix's acceptance speech. That alone made watching the ceremony worth it.

[sepiatone]

Doris Day should have had a longer segment to herself. She was many things all at once, a singer on radio and albums, a movie star, something of a model, had her own tv show, gave to charity ie The HUmane Society. Too bad the tabloids only covered her in her later years as some lost wandering bag lady, as usual taking things out of context. The people running things just don't know who she was and probably had to be reminded that she died last year.

[The Blackbird]

Doris Day should have had a longer segment to herself. She was many things all at once, a singer on radio and albums, a movie star, something of a model, had her own tv show, gave to charity ie The HUmane Society. Too bad the tabloids only covered her in her later years as some lost wandering bag lady, as usual taking things out of context. The people running things just don't know who she was and probably had to be reminded that she died last year.

I guarantee it. Ask any room full of people today about Doris Day and I dread to think how many of the younger ones will say, "Who's she?" Heck, they're probably starting to forget Britney Spears at this point...

[Jim Roots]

Doris Day should have had a longer segment to herself. She was many things all at once, a singer on radio and albums, a movie star, something of a model, had her own tv show, gave to charity ie The HUmane Society. Too bad the tabloids only covered her in her later years as some lost wandering bag lady, as usual taking things out of context. The people running things just don't know who she was and probably had to be reminded that she died last year.

I guarantee it. Ask any room full of people today about Doris Day and I dread to think how many of the younger ones will say, "Who's she?" Heck, they're probably starting to forget Britney Spears at this point...

Heck, they've already started to forget Ariane Grande.

Jim,
whose youngest daughter is now an Ariane ex-fan.

[itslefty]

I was the editor for the 2002 In Memoriam (introduced by Kevin Spacey) and used as many clips and sound bites as I could. A lot of clips got trimmed down to due time restraints but I did my best to give them a classic, if brief, moment. A few people were shoe-horned in at the last moment like animator Chuck Jones who died as we were finishing up. The past few In Memoriam tributes seem to spotlight the singer than the people who passed away.

[Harlowgold]

I was the editor for the 2002 In Memoriam (introduced by Kevin Spacey) and used as many clips and sound bites as I could. A lot of clips got trimmed down to due time restraints but I did my best to give them a classic, if brief, moment. A few people were shoe-horned in at the last moment like animator Chuck Jones who died as we were finishing up. The past few In Memoriam tributes seem to spotlight the singer than the people who passed away.

Nice to see you're among us! The Memoriam reels were indeed far better years ago and I completely agree with your last sentence, I believe there's even been a show or two where the cameras didn't catch every person on the film montage because they were too busy giving shots and closeups of the singer.