The Academy Confirms 2021 Oscars Will Be Held "In-Person"

The Academy plans to hold the 2021 Oscars ceremony in front of a live audience on April 25, 2021, according to a new report.

By Ryan Gajewski Dec 02, 2020 2:48 AMTags
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It looks like Hollywood's biggest night is on track to get back to normal in 2021.

A source with ties to the Academy and ABC told Variety that the vaunted film-awards ceremony will not be a virtual experience, despite the ongoing pandemic. "The Oscars in-person telecast will happen," the insider shared.

The Academy had previously pushed back the date of the ABC ceremony by two months to April 25, 2021, with the hope that the extended time would allow more films to be seen and to qualify for the deadline. 

While movie theaters remain closed in many parts of the country and seem unlikely to be fully reopened by April, the source told Variety that there is no plan to delay the event further and that the aim is still to hold the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, which seats 3,400 people. ​

According to Variety, Academy officials are in the process of figuring out details involving seating and audience capacity. 

Regardless of specifics, the upcoming awards season will definitely have a different feel this year. The Golden Globes ceremony has also been delayed, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler set to host on Sunday, Feb. 28 from The Beverly Hilton, according to the event's website. 

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Recent awards ceremonies have featured a blend of pre-taped and live moments, with the 2020 Emmys including footage of winners accepting the awards from their homes. Emmys host Jimmy Kimmel ran the proceedings from the audience-free Staples Center. 

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A 2021 Oscars host has yet to be announced, and it's unclear whether the Academy will follow its recent trend of not choosing an official emcee.

In other award ceremony news, Trevor Noah is the host of the 2021 Grammys that will air on CBS on Sunday, Jan. 31, although the exact logistics of that event are unclear.

In case the chaos of 2020 has made it tough to remember back that far, Parasite was the big winner at the most recent Oscars, prevailing in four categories including Best Picture. Other winners included Renée Zellweger (Judy), Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).

With COVID-19 cases continuing to surge in parts of the country, Los Angeles County instituted new stay-at-home restrictions on Monday, Nov. 30, putting additional limits on businesses and social gatherings.

In other words, the future of Hollywood's awards season is up in the air.