 On 3 February, "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle backed and praised Asghar Farhadi when he gave an acceptance speech for winning the top prize of Directors Guild of America Awards.Chazelle said that excluding filmmakers was "anti-art".On 19 February, United Talent Agency's head, Jeremy Zimmer, announced that UTA's annual Oscars party was cancelled and a protest rally would be held instead.