Joey Magidson
The Academy is its own worst enemy. I’m convinced that the decisions makers within AMPAS just don’t understand both their membership as well as the show they’re putting on. Do they not get what the Academy Awards are supposed to be about? Simply put, why don’t they like the Oscars more? I ask this obviously in light of yesterday’s announcement that the upcoming ceremony will not have all of the awards presented live. In taping eight of the Oscar categories, they’re seeking out something that doesn’t exist, and it’s truly embarrassing to witness. So, as you can imagine, I’ve got a bit to get off of my chest today. I hope you all indulge me…
It boggles my mind that that the Academy is still trying to find new viewers in this manner. After all, think about it logically. Who in the world is resisting watching the Oscars but will now that they won’t have to have Best Original Score presented live? What individual on Earth was out on the Academy Awards but moving Best Film Editing to pre-show has now roped them in? The answer is no one, obviously. It’s just another flailing attempt to try and gin up ratings that will never be back to where they once were. Instead of cursing the dark, Oscar should light a candle and lean harder into celebrating the work they’re there to celebrate.
Of course, something like this was attempted a few years back but abandoned, so maybe that will be the case again? One can dream, but it does seem like this is a more concerted effort than last time. To what end, though? As mentioned above, who are they trying to appeal to? It just makes no damn sense, which might be the worst part.
You’ll hear tomorrow on the Awards Radar Podcast an idea that I had for something that would improve the Oscars, but I’ll share it here as well. If the Academy really wanted to do something different, one of their video packages at the ceremony should be of the films they didn’t nominate this year. So, in a montage, you can see snubbed movies like Pig and Red Rocket alongside larger fare that folks saw in big numbers like Black Widow and Eternals, plus something harder to quantify like Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Wouldn’t that be better than some skit? Or, shudder, the Twitter vote for a popular film? I rest my case…
Thoughts on the decision? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
Another reason why this is an incredibly stupid, counter-productive decision:
One of the most prevalent assumptions from these knuckleheads in charge of the ceremony is that the Oscars need to recognize more “popular” films. And yet Dune, by far their most financially successful and widely-seen Best Picture nominee, stands a very good chance at winning many of the awards that are being cordoned off in the pre-recorded segment — Film Editing, Makeup & Hairstyling, Original Score, Production Design, and Sound.
So good job, Board of Governors! You’re cutting down on recognition of the movie that most people have seen so that you can set aside time for Cinderella to be announced as Twitter’s Favorite Movie live.
Ain’t that the truth…
The Oscar’s for the 2019 film year should have been one of their highest watched ceremonies in years, on paper. Joker, Little Women, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Ford Vs. Ferrari were all good to outstanding box office successes, and were nominated for best picture. The Irishman was a big hit on Netflix, and was nominated. Brad Pitt was the favorite to win and did win. Mega stats like Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Margot Robbie were nominated.
And yet despite all that, it was one of their lowest watched shows in years. And there wasn’t the excuse of a pandemic that made people not see as many movies, like last years oscars. You would think, after the box office success and star power of the 2019 nominees and still getting a low viewership, the academy would understand thats simply the reality now. All award shows are down. Sports are down. Thats just how it is. And all these stupid changes are going to do is make people who love watching the oscars every year think about not watching. It will lose them viewers, not gain them.
And if they really want a shorter, tighter ceremony? Cut down on the freaking commercials. Dont do two categories, then 5 minutes of commercials. The ceremony could easily be much shorter if they did that. And yet, they never will.
True. Commercials are here to stay, but cutting down on the gimmicks certainly would tighten things up.
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