Steven Soderbergh, the film-maker who co-produced this year’s Oscars ceremony, has defended the controversial decision to switch round the running order, meaning the final prizes were best actress and best actor, with best film coming third from the end. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Soderbergh credited the decision to the likely narrative of the night, saying that he and fellow producers Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins first discussed the possibility back in January, months before the nominations. “It’s our belief – that I think is not unfounded – that actors’ speeches tend to be more dramatic than producers’ speeches,” said Soderbergh. Back in January, a win for the late actor Chadwick Boseman for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom also seemed almost certain, with his widow accepting the award on his behalf. This eventuality, said Soderbergh, “would have been such a shattering moment” that “to come back after that would have been just impossible”. Therefore, continued Soderbergh, switching the categories around seemed sensible. “I said if there was even the sliver of a chance that he would win and that his widow would speak, then we were operating under the fact that was the end of the show,” he said. In fact, Boseman lost out on the best actor prize to Anthony Hopkins for his performance in The Father. Hopkins, 83, was in Wales at the time of the ceremony and did not travel to the London hub to pick up his award – at what would have been nearly 4am local time – as the producers had requested. Hopkins’ co-star Olivia Colman, who did attend the London ceremony, was also not allowed to receive it on his behalf. The actor offered to join the ceremony via video link, but the Oscar producers stood firm on their “no Zoom” policy, meaning the show closed abruptly with best actor presenter Joaquin Phoenix accepting the prize for Hopkins and credits quickly rolling. The lack of closure was exacerbated by the lack of a host to wind proceedings up. Asked if he regretted the decision not to allow Hopkins to join by video link, Soderbergh said: “No.” The TV ratings for this year’s Oscars were 58% down on last year.