Apologies for not getting this article out a little quicker, but it's been something of a busy week. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made a few pretty significant decisions yesterday, and those choices instantly became the talk of the town. In a single tweet, the organization behind the Oscars revealed three major changes that could permanently alter the show:
-The introduction of a strict running time of 3 hours, which will supposedly make the telecast more "globally accessible." It also means relegating certain awards to commercial breaks.
-An earlier date for the 92nd show- February 9, 2020. For context, this year's show took place on March 4, 2018 (partially to avoid the Winter Olympics).
-Finally, the introduction of Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film, a new category that will honor......I dunno, movies that make a lot of money. Variety's Kris Tapley confirmed that the new category will be present at the 91st Oscars.
Within hours, Twitter was up in arms, with many awards prognosticators searching for answers on precisely how and why this happened. Variety discovered the influence of ABC, the broadcaster of the annual ceremony. The network was apparently unhappy with the ratings of last year's show (26.6 million viewers tuned in to see The Shape of Water win Best Picture), pressuring the Academy to recognize its impending irrelevance. As a result, the aforementioned changes were introduced.
So what do I think about all of this nonsense? Well, I'm in favor of the earlier start date. While 2018 was an anomaly, I don't think I would be wrong to say that nobody really cares about the Oscars by the time late February rolls around. Those who cover it closely are exhausted by that point; moving the show to early February is a smart move to keep people invested. In fact, I wish they were introducing that change for this year's show.
As for the shortened running time, my thoughts on that are pretty simple: no. Look, the Oscars are too long, but the excess is almost part of the charm. For those of us who sit around predicting who will win Best Sound Mixing or Best Makeup and Hairstyling, every award matters. To kick those awards to the curb in favor of supposedly populist musical numbers and old-school extravagance is downright silly at best and insulting at worst. In fact, I'm so opposed to this idea that I might accept the whole Popular Film category if they commit to keeping every award on the telecast.
But let's talk about the new category, shall we? Of course it's a stupid idea. I'm not sure how anyone could think of this as an improvement on the current system. Many have already asserted that this award only exists as a safety net for the Academy, in the event that Marvel's Black Panther doesn't make the cut for some reason. That's really moronic, mostly because the Ryan Coogler-directed project was likely bound for a Best Picture anyways. It could technically slide into both categories, but will it?
Regardless of the rationale for introducing this award in 2018, the biggest problem is that it's an arbitrary and vague prize to hand out. What counts as "popular"? Is it a movie that makes $100 million? $150 million? Does La La Land count as "popular" since it was a box office hit, even though it was designed as an awards season juggernaut? What about something like Get Out, which only cost $5 million to make? Are we strictly talking Star Wars and Marvel movies here? Will this ever be anything but a participation trophy?
The Academy noted that more details will be available on the award as we move forward. But at the moment, this has to go down, ironically, as one of the most un-popular decisions in the history of the Oscars.
Images: Fox Searchlight, A24
-The introduction of a strict running time of 3 hours, which will supposedly make the telecast more "globally accessible." It also means relegating certain awards to commercial breaks.
-An earlier date for the 92nd show- February 9, 2020. For context, this year's show took place on March 4, 2018 (partially to avoid the Winter Olympics).
-Finally, the introduction of Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film, a new category that will honor......I dunno, movies that make a lot of money. Variety's Kris Tapley confirmed that the new category will be present at the 91st Oscars.
Within hours, Twitter was up in arms, with many awards prognosticators searching for answers on precisely how and why this happened. Variety discovered the influence of ABC, the broadcaster of the annual ceremony. The network was apparently unhappy with the ratings of last year's show (26.6 million viewers tuned in to see The Shape of Water win Best Picture), pressuring the Academy to recognize its impending irrelevance. As a result, the aforementioned changes were introduced.
So what do I think about all of this nonsense? Well, I'm in favor of the earlier start date. While 2018 was an anomaly, I don't think I would be wrong to say that nobody really cares about the Oscars by the time late February rolls around. Those who cover it closely are exhausted by that point; moving the show to early February is a smart move to keep people invested. In fact, I wish they were introducing that change for this year's show.
As for the shortened running time, my thoughts on that are pretty simple: no. Look, the Oscars are too long, but the excess is almost part of the charm. For those of us who sit around predicting who will win Best Sound Mixing or Best Makeup and Hairstyling, every award matters. To kick those awards to the curb in favor of supposedly populist musical numbers and old-school extravagance is downright silly at best and insulting at worst. In fact, I'm so opposed to this idea that I might accept the whole Popular Film category if they commit to keeping every award on the telecast.
But let's talk about the new category, shall we? Of course it's a stupid idea. I'm not sure how anyone could think of this as an improvement on the current system. Many have already asserted that this award only exists as a safety net for the Academy, in the event that Marvel's Black Panther doesn't make the cut for some reason. That's really moronic, mostly because the Ryan Coogler-directed project was likely bound for a Best Picture anyways. It could technically slide into both categories, but will it?
Regardless of the rationale for introducing this award in 2018, the biggest problem is that it's an arbitrary and vague prize to hand out. What counts as "popular"? Is it a movie that makes $100 million? $150 million? Does La La Land count as "popular" since it was a box office hit, even though it was designed as an awards season juggernaut? What about something like Get Out, which only cost $5 million to make? Are we strictly talking Star Wars and Marvel movies here? Will this ever be anything but a participation trophy?
The Academy noted that more details will be available on the award as we move forward. But at the moment, this has to go down, ironically, as one of the most un-popular decisions in the history of the Oscars.
Images: Fox Searchlight, A24
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