The son of IMAX visionary David Keighley slammed the Academy for failing to honor his father at the award show’s “In Memoriam” segment.
Geoff Keighley, a television presenter and video game journalist, torched the Oscars ceremony and the Academy in a public statement, saying he was “heartbroken” that his father was absent from the Oscars’ annual tribute to Hollywood’s departed.
“So incredibly disappointed and heartbroken that the #Oscars and AMPAS chose not to include my father, David Keighley, and his immeasurable contributions to IMAX and cinema in the In Memoriam segment in the broadcast," he wrote on X.
“I will never forget,” he added.
David died in September 2025 at the age of 77, after a battle with neuroendocrine prostate cancer. He served as IMAX’s first-ever Chief Quality Officer.
The IMAX executive, who worked at the company for over fifty years, was described as “a trusted partner to some of the world’s most lauded filmmakers, including Christopher Nolan.”
Shortly before his death, David finished reviewing Nolan’s upcoming feature The Odyssey, which was shot entirely with IMAX 70 MM cameras, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Keighley reportedly oversaw postproduction for over 500 IMAX films, per the Reporter.
David was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a member of its Science and Technology committee, as his son pointed out on Instagram.
“My Dad was a proud member of @theacademy for decades and had an incredible impact on the cinema experience as we know it today," Keighley wrote. “Our entire family was so sad his passing didn’t get mentioned in the broadcast tonight. We will never forget his role in shaping movies.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Academy for comment.
Filmmakers like Nolan, James Cameron, Denis Villeneuve, and Francis Ford Coppola paid their respects to David and his craft in a statement issued by IMAX at the time.
“Cinema is mourning one of its most brilliant technical masters‚" said Villeneuve, the director behind 2021’s Dune and its 2024 sequel. “He was a strong ally,” said three-time Academy Award winner Cameron, “And a true believer in creating the ultimate cinema experience for audiences around the world.”
Sunday night, the Oscars honored late legends who passed away last year, including Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Catherine O’Hara, and Val Kilmer. Barbra Streisand paid a special tribute to co-star Robert Redford, while several Hollywood A-Listers held a heartfelt memorial onstage for the late Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner.
Other snubs from the segment were also noted, including the lack of tribute to James Van Der Beek and Eric Dane.
