BAFTA award winners slam Oscars' controversial plans

Tom Cross and Elliot Graham, who recently won the BAFTA award for 'No Time to Die' have decried the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to cut eight different Oscar categories, including film editing, from the live telecast.

According to Variety, during the BAFTA winners press conference after picking up their awards, the duo said they were unhappy with the Academy's decision to remove craft categories from its live awards broadcast, even though 'No Time to Die' isn't nominated for best film editing at the Oscars.

In response to Variety's question about the Academy's decision, Cross said, "I'm glad you asked that. I mean speaking for myself, I'm not a fan. I think it taints the entire proceeding, I think it's not what the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is about in my opinion. I feel lucky to have attended before and I just think that every Academy statue is gold. It's not silver, it's not bronze. All of those nominees, all of those people, deserve to stand up the same way everyone else does."

Agreeing to this, Graham added, "It's our turn to say 'That's not okay'. I grew up wanting to be an Academy member and that dream came true. I think it's f--ked up. And I think they need to think about that."

Apart from these two, Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green and Ron Bartlett, who all picked up the BAFTA award for best sound for 'Dune' and are currently in the running for an Oscar later this month, also lambasted the decision, as per Variety.

For the unversed, in February this year, the Academy announced its decision to present several Oscar categories outside of the live March 27 telecast via a letter from Academy president David Rubin sent to Academy membership.

The affected categories are Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Animated Short Film, Best Live-Action Short Film and Best Sound.