James Taylor played the Beatles hit “In My Life” to the in memoriam clip at the Oscars last night. It included several directors, producers, actors, cinematographers and executives I’d never heard of who no doubt made an impact in the industry. There was even a public relations guy, writers, and a sound editor. Michael Jackson was included, as were other famous losses like Natasha Richardson, Brittany Murphy, and David Carradine. Two actresses we lost last year were notably absent, though: Bea Arthur and Farrah Fawcett. I don’t understand how they could include Michael Jackson but “forget” Farrah Fawcett, who died on the same day. Both Farrah and Bea were involved in films, as Michael K at D-Listed points out. Plus they included Michael Jackson and it’s not like he was known for much more than his music. The people responsible for the Oscars admit that they have to cut people due to time and that their choices aren’t necessarily popular.

RadarOnline.com caught up with Academy Awards rep Leslie Unger after the show who said, “It is highly unlikely that we forgot about Farrah Fawcett but we unfortunately don’t include everyone each year.” She added: “There are many angles that are looked at as to who to include and unfortunately we don’t include everyone.”…

Bruce Davis, the executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said days before the show that producing the segment is the toughest to do and his committee always has to make some tough cuts.

“It is the single most troubling element of the Oscar show every year,” he said. “Because more people die each year than can possibly be included in that segment.” His office keeps a running list of those who have passed away since last year’s segments which he and a small committee whittle down from more than 100 names to about 30. “You are dropping people who the public knows. It’s just not comfortable.”

[From Radar Online]

Well now that we’ve seen the overlong Oscars and heard their explanation for cutting people from the memorial segment we know that their priority is not the audience. They have their own agenda and will honor the people they see fit. I would much rather have seen a few more moments of memorial clips than all of the industry specific awards like costume design, makeup, sound editing and sound mixing. They’re never going to cut those, but they’ll easily cut beloved actors and actresses from the memorial clip in order to save time. Next year there will be even less people willing to sit through that bloated ceremony.

Oh, and another thing, I’m having trouble finding videos of the Oscars because they’re being pulled due to copyright claims. And Oscar.com only offers a highlight video, backstage “thank you” cam, and red carpet footage.