Update: The Academy has released a statement about its decision to omit Joan Rivers from this year's In Memoriam montage at the Oscars. "Joan Rivers is among the many worthy artists and filmmakers we were unfortunately unable to feature in the In Memoriam segment of this year's Oscar show. She is, however, included in our In Memoriam gallery on Oscar.com," the Academy said in a statement to THR.
The following post was published on February 22 at 11:45 p.m.:
There's always some chatter after the In Memoriam reel is presented at the Oscars. After many viewers questioned the Academy's omission of Cory Monteith, James Avery, and Tom Clancy in 2014, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the time allotted only allows for 25 to 30 people to be remembered. Those 25 to 30 people need to have made a significant contribution to the world of film, which means that people who make the reel had to loom large in Hollywood. This year, Joan Rivers wasn't included in the montage, causing many fans to take umbrage. Joan Rivers was, of course, a singular talent whose impact and influence was felt in every part of the entertainment world. While Rivers played a major role in turning the Oscars red carpet into the EVENT it is today; however, she wasn't that well known for her more quantifiable contributions to cinema. Yes, she had small roles in films like Shrek 2 and Iron Man 3, but most of Rivers' film work involved playing herself. Rivers also wrote and directed a movie called Rabbit Test, which marked Billy Crystal's acting debut, but that was the extent of her foray into feature-length films. While it does feel unjust that we weren't given one last chance to remember the magic of Joan Rivers, please know that this wasn't a major (or even an intentional) snub on the Academy's part. We'll just leave this spot-on tweet from Billy Eichner here on our way out, though.
There's always some chatter after the In Memoriam reel is presented at the Oscars. After many viewers questioned the Academy's omission of Cory Monteith, James Avery, and Tom Clancy in 2014, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the time allotted only allows for 25 to 30 people to be remembered. Those 25 to 30 people need to have made a significant contribution to the world of film, which means that people who make the reel had to loom large in Hollywood. This year, Joan Rivers wasn't included in the montage, causing many fans to take umbrage. Joan Rivers was, of course, a singular talent whose impact and influence was felt in every part of the entertainment world. While Rivers played a major role in turning the Oscars red carpet into the EVENT it is today; however, she wasn't that well known for her more quantifiable contributions to cinema. Yes, she had small roles in films like Shrek 2 and Iron Man 3, but most of Rivers' film work involved playing herself. Rivers also wrote and directed a movie called Rabbit Test, which marked Billy Crystal's acting debut, but that was the extent of her foray into feature-length films. While it does feel unjust that we weren't given one last chance to remember the magic of Joan Rivers, please know that this wasn't a major (or even an intentional) snub on the Academy's part. We'll just leave this spot-on tweet from Billy Eichner here on our way out, though.
No Joan Rivers in the montage??? She basically created the red carpet which makes all of these bitches millions. For shame!!!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 23, 2015