What is the new Oscars Crisis team and what have they already been called on for?
The Oscars is a ceremony designed to celebrate the year’s best films and the people who made them, but often the awards themselves get overshadowed by other events.
In recent years we’ve seen the wrong film announced as best picture, #Oscarssowhite trending on social media and of course, last year’s now infamous slap by Will Smith, who later went back on stage to accept the award for best actor.
This year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who are behind the ceremony, have for the first time implemented a crisis team who will be on hand should anything unexpected happen.
In preparation the team have been tasked with running practice scenarios, with the intention that they will react instantly should something controversial take place.
But it’s not something that seems to have impacted plans for the show itself.
Speaking at a press conference, the executive producer and showrunner of this year’s Oscars, Glen Weiss, says at the many events he’s worked at there have always been teams in place to deal with difficult moments, but it’s not something he’s focusing on.
“We put on the entertainment, the secret service takes on the other stuff,” he said.
Last month the Academy’s new president (she took on the role last summer) Janet Yang told attendees at the Oscars Nominees Luncheon (an annual event that takes place in the weeks before the awards for those nominated) that she thought changes were necessary following what she described as last year’s “unprecedented event”.
“What happened on stage was wholly unacceptable and the response from the organisation was inadequate,” Ms Yang said.
“We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions and particularly in times of crisis.”
Will Smith accepts the award for best actor after slapping Chris Rock. Pic: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
“We must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry – you should and can expect no less from us going forward.”
“We are committed to maintaining the highest of standards while creating the changes we wish to see in our industry.”
So, with a crisis team now in place, what are the chances they will actually be called upon? It’s not as if anyone could have predicted the slap ahead of last year’s Oscars.
But Academy CEO Bill Kramer, who is also new, having been in the position since last July, has told Time they have already in fact been put to work after the nominations came under fire following a very short and targeted campaign for Andrea Riseborough.
It saw a week of heavy promotion on social media for the actress’s performance in To Leslie by Hollywood heavyweights including Jennifer Aniston, Ed Norton and fellow nominee Cate Blanchett.
When she was shortlisted for the lead actress award, some critics queried whether the nominations process is fit for purpose.
Mr Kramer told Time the Academy was “much more ready to handle the campaign regulations discussion” thanks to the crisis team.
“That happened on a Tuesday and, six days later, we were able to issue our formal statement from the board that really carved out a plan for us,” he said.
“So you never know exactly what’s going to happen.”
Read more:
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Mr Kramer added: “But you have to have the teams and frameworks in place and the processes in place, to come together to figure things out quickly.”
“But also making sure that you have the right groups of members and leaders and stakeholders who can come together to have a voice in this conversation.”
The Academy has faced criticism in the past for being slow to change, but it seems perhaps lessons have now been learned, and with the Oscars still pulling in millions of viewers around the world (despite declining viewing figures) all eyes will be on the organisation – and its crisis team – should the unexpected happen.
You can watch the Academy Awards on Sunday 12 March from 11pm exclusively on Sky News and Sky Showcase.
Plus, get all the intel from our Oscars special Backstage podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts, from Monday morning.
An emergency vote on Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been called off following developments in the Middle East, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said.
Contest organisers had scheduled “an extraordinary meeting of [its] general assembly to be held online” in early November after several countries said they would no longer take part in Eurovision if Israel participated.
The EBU said in a statement that following “recent developments in the Middle East” the executive board had agreed on Monday that there should be an in-person discussion among members “on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026”.
It said the matter had now been added to the agenda of its winter general assembly, which will take place in December.
Further details about the session would be shared with EBU members in the coming weeks, it added.
It is not clear if a vote will still take place at a later date.
Austria is hosting next year’s show in Vienna. The country’s national broadcaster, ORF, told Reuters news agency it welcomed the EBU’s decision.
Sky News has contacted Israeli broadcaster KAN for comment.
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Will Eurovision boycott Israel?
Faced with controversy over the conflict in Gaza, Eurovision – which labels itself a non-political event – had said member countries would vote on whether Israel should or shouldn’t take part.
Slovenia and broadcasters from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Iceland had all issued statements saying if Israel was allowed to enter, they’d consider boycotting the contest.
As one of the “Big Five” backers of Eurovision, Spain’s decision to leave the competition would have a significant financial impact on the event – which is the world’s largest live singing competition.
In September, a letter from EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci, said “given that the union has never faced a divisive situation like this before” the board agreed it “merited a broader democratic basis for a decision”.
Read more:
Why Eurovision vote on Israel might not stop boycott
Could Eurovision boycott lead to a competition crisis?
On Monday, Palestinian militant group Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel released busloads of Palestinian detainees, under a ceasefire deal aimed at bringing an end to the two-year war in the Middle East.
The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave and killing more than 67,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants but it says around half of those killed were women and children.
Entertainment
Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died aged 79 – US media reports
Actress Diane Keaton, who starred in films including The Godfather and Annie Hall, has died, reports have said.
People reported her death at the age of 79, citing a family spokesperson.
The magazine said she died in California with loved ones but no other details were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press news agency.
Keaton’s death was also reported by the New York Times newspaper which said it has spoken to Dori Roth, who produced a number of Keaton’s most recent films, who confirmed she had died but did not provide any details about the circumstances.
With a long career, across a series of movies that are regarded as some of the best ever made, Keaton was widely admired.
She was awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globe Awards, and was also nominated for two Emmys, and a Tony, as well as picking up a series of other Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.
Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for ‘Annie Hall’ in 1978. Pic: AP
Her best actress Oscar was for the Woody Allen film Annie Hall, which is said to be loosely based on her life.
She appeared in several other Allen projects, including Manhattan, as well as all three Godfather movies, in which she played Kay, the wife and then ex-wife of Marlon Brando’s son Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, opposite him as he descends into a life of crime and replaces his father in the family’s mafia empire.
‘Brilliant, beautiful’
The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.
Her First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.
“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”
Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”
Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in the iconic necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.
Keaton also frequently worked with Nancy Meyers, starting with 1987’s Baby Boom.
Their other films together included 1991’s Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, as well as 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give.
In 1996 she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.
More recently she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.
Keaton never married. She adopted a daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.
Sky News has contacted Keaton’s agent for a comment.
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