The Oscars attempt to explain Luke Perry’s omission from this year’s In Memoriam. Each year the Oscars telecast includes a tribute to important film industry figures who passed away over the preceding 12 months, and each year producers manage to create controversy by omitting a few notable people who arguably deserved to be included in the segment.
Of course, as with most such controversies, the social media bullhorn nowadays amplifies things to a much higher volume than in years past, when fans didn’t have the ability to instantaneously vent their ire at their favorite artists receiving a snub. The annual ritual of fans going on Twitter and other outlets to fuel In Memoriam snub backlash can probably be traced to 2008 when the omission of actor Brad Renfro resulted in massive outcry. In the years since, such big names as Corey Haim, Joan Rivers, Abe Vigoda, Verne Troyer, Gary Kurtz and R. Lee Ermey have also received In Memoriam snubs, fueling backlash.
This year, the annual In Memoriam snub list was headed up by actor Perry, who appeared in Best Picture nominee Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, as well as horror film star Sid Haig and Grown Ups 2 actor Cameron Boyce. As is their habit whenever such backlashes occur, the Academy released a statement explaining why certain people were left off the list (via ComicBook.com):
Of course, in many instances the death of a notable Hollywood name happens too close to the telecast for them to be included, as was the case when classic film director Stanley Donen was snubbed in 2019. In the case of Perry, Boyce and Haig however, it seems the people responsible for finalizing the In Memoriam list simply did not deem them important enough to be included.
“The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment. An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time. All the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year. Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce are remembered in the Oscar.com gallery.”
It could perhaps be argued that Perry and Boyce both made a much bigger impact in TV than film, accounting for their exclusion, while Haig was much more of a cult figure than a mainstream star. Of course, such explanations won’t carry much weight with fans who were hoping to see their favorites receive a final shout out on Oscar night only to be disappointed. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that there has to be some cut-off line, as the In Memoriam segment has to be fit into an overall telecast that is trying to keep things as tight as humanly possible. So even if the Oscars extended the segment another minute to include arguably less-important people, there would still be people left off, and fans hitting up Twitter to loudly complain about yet another egregious In Memoriam snub. Social media backlash indeed has become as inevitable as death itself.
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Source: ComicBook.com
