Listen Live
Donate
 on air
    Schedule

    KCRW

    Read & Explore

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Food
    • Culture
    • Events

    Listen

    • Live Radio
    • Music
    • Podcasts
    • Full Schedule

    Information

    • About
    • Careers
    • Help / FAQ
    • Newsletters
    • Contact

    Support

    • Become a Member
    • Become a VIP
    • Ways to Give
    • Shop
    • Member Perks

    Become a Member

    Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

    DonateGive Monthly

    Copyright 2026 KCRW. All rights reserved.

    Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
    Cookie Policy
    |FCC Public Files|

    Back to Hollywood Breakdown

    Hollywood Breakdown

    The Oscar for biggest controversy goes to...

    From the highly unpopular popular film category idea to the hosting debacle to the Academy's latest decision to relegate the presentation of four awards to commercial breaks, the Academy has stumbled one time after another en route to this year's…

    • rss
    • Share
    KCRW placeholderBy Matthew Belloni • Feb 15, 2019 • 1 min read

    In an effort to keep this year's Oscars under 3 hours, the Academy announced that four categories--cinematography, editing, hair and makeup, and live action shorts--would be presented during commercial breaks and the speeches aired later in the telecast. The blowback was swift--especially in regards to the cinematography and editing categories--many directors have spoken out about how essential these skills are to the craft of filmmaking. Thus far though, the Academy is refusing to cave on their decision--no doubt the pressure from ABC to keep the telecast short is intense. In addition to the relegation of these four categories, the show will also be host-less...so tune in to see a potential debacle!

    • KCRW placeholder

      Matthew Belloni

      founding partner of Puck News

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Kim Masters

      partner/writer at Puck News, host of KCRW's “The Business.”

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Kaitlin Parker

      Producer, 'The Business' and 'Hollywood Breakdown'

      CultureEntertainmentArts
    Back to Hollywood Breakdown