“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.
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 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.
“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.”.
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”.
