Will China Snub The Oscars, Again?
deadline.comAfter not airing the 2021 Oscar ceremony, China is believed to be sitting out this weekend’s event as well. The motivations behind last year’s move were understood to be related to specific films and filmmakers, and while China released fewer Hollywood movies than usual in 2021, the reasoning behind a decision to not to show the Oscars this year is somewhat unclear.Last March, the Chinese government told local media to curb coverage of the 2021 Oscars due to what were understood to be its concerns over past comments made by then-nominee Chloe Zhao who went on to win the Best Director prize for Nomadland which also scooped the Best Picture trophy.
China was also thought to have issues with Do Not Split, a Documentary Short nominee about the Hong Kong protests.Hong Kong’s leading broadcaster, TVB, also did not air the Oscars in 2021 — for the first time in over five decades — having maintained it was a commercial decision.
Currently, there is no mention of the Oscars on TVB’s Monday schedule. Deadline has reached out to TVB. A story in The Hollywood Reporter cites sources close to China’s state television CCTV saying there are no plans to air the ceremony there this year.
However, Communist Party mouthpiece, The Global Times, is carrying a wire report from AFP that talks up the number of Oscar nominees who hail from Spain, so it appears mention of the awards has not entirely been scrubbed from local media.
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