Oscar reps confirmed that the planned Batkid segment on March 2 was scrapped due to “logistics,” and not due to any temperamental differences.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences issued a statement late Thursday morning saying, “Due to the nature of a live show, hard decisions sometimes must be made which require the Academy to cut segments due to the logistics of production. Andrew Garfield understood that his segment had to be omitted, and he drove to Disneyland on Monday to spend time with 5-year-old Miles Scott (Batkid) and his family.”
The New York Post’s Page 6 had printed that Garfield stormed out of rehearsals for the Oscar show when he didn’t like the scripted material. Since then, reps have denied that version. The theme of the Oscar show was heroes, and Garfield had been announced as a presenter. After the show, the participation of Batkid came to light. Garfield appears blameless, but some cynics on the Internet have wondered why that segment would be cut while other, fluffier elements remained.
The Make-a-Wish Foundation had granted the request of 5-year-old Scott, who has cancer, to become Batkid for a day, and San Francisco helped him live out that scenario.
