Academy Sets 8-Point Plan In Motion To “Reinvigorate” Oscars
More slaps? No, just a bunch of nonsense that they’ve already said they’ve been doing for decades. Via Deadline:
- Hiring producing teams who are accountable to the Academy and creating a dedicated team within the Academy solely focused on the Awards
- Determining how to best honor all craft areas on air
- Focusing on a love and reverence for film
- Creating an emotional investment in the nominees
- Exploring extensions of the show on streaming
- Continuing the theatrical requirement for eligibility
- Making the red carpet an event
- Continuing to prioritize sustainability, access, inclusion, and representation
[Deadline]
More details on the “new” plans at the link. The problem is, no one cares about the Oscars anymore (except for gays over the age of 40) because the only movies most people go to the theaters to watch are comic book, superhero, animated, or reboots, and most of these movies are crap that will never be nominated for Oscars. Also, TV viewing in general has changed, and a lot of people don’t even have network television and ABC on their TVs.
The Oscars thrived until the mid 2000s because Hollywood was still making original blockbusters that were popular with audiences and critics (e.g., Titanic, Silence Of The Lambs, Gladiator, Pulp Fiction, The Departed, etc.), so when these movies were nominated for Best Picture, of course people watched the Oscars. Even a “smaller” movie like American Beauty (which won in 1999) made $130 million at the box office, because the studio promoted it well and, sorry to say, theater-goers had more mature taste in film 25 years ago. The last two Best Picture winners were Coda and Nomadland, and I would challenge you to find more than 10 people who saw both of those movies. (And I would apologize to anyone who tells you they watched Coda.)
In 1998, some of the big summer movies were Saving Private Ryan, The Truman Show, and There’s Something About Mary. In summer 2022, Minions: The Rise Of Gru (no clue), Thor: Love And Thunder (sounds like a porn?), and DC League Of Super Pets (huh?) were each #1 at the box office for weeks. The one stand out this summer was the Top Gun sequel (something I will never see, as I never saw the original and have no interest in movies like this), which got great reviews and made over $700 million. If the Oscars are smart (they’re not), they’ll nominate it for Best Picture.
That said, it’s not all bad. The new Predator movie—which was in fact a sort of prequel/reboot—called Prey was fantastic. Although, it won’t be nominated at the Oscars. Also, the #2 movie at the box office this weekend was Barbarian, and it too has excellent reviews. But, I’m told it’s best to not know anything about it before watching, so keep that in mind if you view the trailer.
