Here’s a fun mental exercise: can you think of one — just one — major ceremony or event or movie that hasn’t been delayed since the COVID-19 pandemic began? I’m racking my brain and coming up blank; everything has been postponed.
That now includes the Oscars. Originally scheduled for February 28, 2021, the biggest awards ceremony in Hollywood will now be held on April 25. That’s a full two months and is the latest date the Academy Awards has ever been held. For the trivia nerds, the previous latest Oscars were held on April 18, 1966 so 2021’s event will beat that by a week.
Another change: the eligibility window for the next Oscars has been pushed too. Movies now need to be released between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. Originally they needed to be in theaters before the end of the year. Obviously The Academy recognizes that many, many films are being delayed and they altered their eligibility window to reflect that.
Not much else is known about the next Oscars. I will say this though: after the year we have had, I think it would be wise for the show to have an actual host again. We need someone who can be cathartically funny and can recap the year that was. This has been an insane year and we are hardly even halfway through. We have had to deal with President Trump, COVID-19, racial and civil unrest and, in case you forgot, the presidential election is just months away. You just know that the Oscars will touch upon all of this, they absolutely have to. And hopefully they have a talented and comforting host to lead the ceremony.