A new change to the 2022 Oscars is not sitting well with some established filmmakers

In response to waning ratings for the Academy Awards, the decision was made to pre-tape several awards at Saturday’s Art Directors Guild Awards and edit them into this year’s Oscars broadcast. The Oscar for Production Design was among those pre-taped.

“Honestly, I think that the Academy’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” Denis Dilleneuve told Deadline. “I think it’s a mistake. And I understand that they’re under tremendous pressure, but I think it isn’t the right decision.

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“The thing is that filmmaking is about a teamwork. It’s like a football team,” he continued. “It’s like you have like all different kinds of jobs that everybody needs to get the top of its game; otherwise the movie collapses, you know? It’s a team effort. In the media we are a lot about the directors. We are, of course, a lot about the actors. All the people that are working in the shadows there, unfortunately, they need to be seen and to be recognized, and these award shows are made for them.”

Villeneuve (“Dune”) acknowledged that the Academy Awards can sometimes be a slog, but argues that it’s part of the charm.

“I think that the Oscars are going through an identity crisis,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Academy Awards. I think everybody is expecting that it will be a long show. Myself, I love it.

“There’s always bursts of genius. And beautiful moments. Sometimes it’s boring… Every single edition is always its own. It’s part of the show. And listen, we’ll see what happened this year but I think there will be a lot of thought before and after.”

Director Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) is on the same page as Villeneuve.

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“With the recent changes in the format the Oscars I want to take a moment to express particularly how important production design is to creating a good film,” said Campion.

“I would have definitely included design in the main body of the awards because design is so vital. It’s one of the most important relationships.”

The 94th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 27.