Snubs, omissions, and a secret publicity race: The thorny diplomacy of the Oscars in memoriam segment

The in memoriam tribute serves a worthy cause, but the scrutiny is real, and errors don’t go unnoticed. Clémence Michallon takes a closer look at a segment that tends to make headlines for the wrong reasons. The in memoriam tribute is not only the most melancholy part of any Oscars ceremony – it is by far the thorniest to produce. The segment, instituted in 2014, serves a noble cause: to honour members of the film industry who have died in the year preceding the event, serving as a reminder of their contributions to the arts. But when the in memoriam sequence makes headlines, it tends to be for all the wrong reasons.

Historically, the outrage has stemmed from the omission of a beloved industry figure (as was the case in 2020 with actor Luke Perry). There have been other hiccups along the way: in 2017 (the year of the infamous gaffe in which La La Land was wrongly announced as Best Picture instead of Moonlight), the segment included the wrong photo for costume designer Janet Patterson, showing an image of a living producer instead.

“The truth is, campaigning is a huge part of every inch of the Oscars, and that includes being included in the in memoriam segment,” says Kate Erbland, a deputy editor of film at IndieWire with five backstage turns at the Oscars. “Campaigning and drumming up publicity is always part and parcel of the awards season, even when it comes to something as sensitive as the in memoriam segment.”.

Back in 2013, longtime publicist Sheldon Roskin told The New York Times of his efforts to have Tommy Culla, a fellow publicist and agent, included in the segment. “Unfortunately, my calls to the Academy were not returned,” Roskin said at the time. Tom Sherak, the Academy’s former president, admitted to the publication that “of all the committees, [the one in charge of the in memoriam segment is] the hardest one to do”.

Being well-connected is only one part of the equation, and may in some instances do little to help.  Campaigning the show’s producers, Erbland notes, doesn’t work, since “they’re not at all involved with the creation of the segment”. Being a member of the Academy isn’t a prerequisite for inclusion in the sequence – nor is it a guarantee. “Talents who might be better known for their work in other arenas, like music or on stage, will likely be left off the Oscar segment,” Erbland adds, “as the committee expects they will be honoured elsewhere, like at the Tonys or the Grammys.”.

While those parameters help explain some omissions, anyone who has kept a close eye on the ceremony over the years will remember several especially egregious misses. Erbland, for example, recounts 2019 as being “particularly weird”: “The in memoriam listing didn’t include such major film names as Carol Channing and Sondra Locke (both Oscar nominees!) and iconic director Stanley Donen. That was a very strange year indeed.”.

But the list isn’t the only problem left to solve as far as the in memoriam tribute is concerned – and perhaps not the most pressing. “I think a bigger problem when it comes to inclusion is the show’s continued inability to pivot if a major talent dies in the days leading up to the show,” Erbland adds. “The segment is typically locked weeks before the Oscars air, which leaves a tremendous amount of time for big stars to pass away and thus not be included in the segment. Please don’t tell me that film professionals can’t manage a quick edit in a short period of time. What kind of movie magic is that?”.