Academy Award Show Coverage

The Academy has been in a rut the past 10 years. Ratings have been going down fairly consistently with 2003 having a low 33 million viewers, and 2007 having an all time low of 32 million. But in need of change, the people planning the Oscars this year were batting a hundred.
This year people didn’t care about the films that were nominated. Sure some people tuned in to see Heath Ledger win best supporting actor, but for the most part (at least if you look at box office numbers for the films) people just didn’t care and more importantly they didn’t see any of the movies. People tuned into see not only the makeover for the show but also too see A-list stars.

This is where the Academy hits a homerun. They moved away from the traditional comedian host to a People’s Sexiest Man Alive Hugh Jackman, which was their first good move. Jackman was funny and his song-and-dance routines were what ended up making him a memorable host and while his jokes sometimes fell flat it was easier to forgive him considering he’s a legit actor (no offence Billy Crystal).

The second good move was the presenters. Still awkwardly combined (there’s just no getting around Daniel Craig and Sarah Jessica Parker) this time the presenters were people we actually wanted to see. The most memorable presenters would have to be Ben Stiller, who did a Joaquin Phoenix impersonation, and Steve Martin and Tina Fey, who had some good back and forth dialogue regarding screenplays.

The third, and most appreciated, win was the makeover of the show. Things seemed fresher and the retrospect’s of last years movies, while unnecessary, did happen to not only liven up the Oscars but also make an appeal to the mainstream crowd. The ever-changing backgrounds also left for a fresh show.

But what is the Oscar’s without some problems. The first would be the new format of presenting the acting awards. By bringing out 5 older Academy winners to announce the nominees is a nice thought, it didn’t work for several reasons. The first is that these people should be presenting, not critiquing. Their opinions often times got in the way of the tribute that the announcers should be giving the actors. The worst would be Cuba Gooding Jr. whose words about Robert Downey Jr.’s turn as a black face in Tropic Thunder seemed somewhat laughable. Being talked up by Anthony Hopkins is a cool idea but not everyone of the nominees were as fortunate (Joel Grey? He did Cabaret and then fell off the face of the planet, why is he presenting?). Also presenters made it all about themselves, best displayed by Halle Berry who had the nerve to compare Melissa Leo’s performance in Frozen River to her own Oscar nod. This is a night to recognize the best of 2008... not yourself.

However the biggest issue with the Oscars has remained the same for years. People simply don’t care about the technical awards. Costume design is interesting to be fair, but the average Joe just wants to see the major awards and not even to that degree this year. When ever members of the industry like Jack Black and host Hugh Jackman joke about not seeing the movies, one has to ask: Why do I care if they don’t?

But despite that traditional setback the Oscars this year were the best in some time. Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner of course but Milk politically seemed to have a lot to say with both Sean Penn (who won best Actor for playing gay rights activist Harvey Milk) and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black lashing out against the Prop 8 disputes in California. Winners went according to plan making the show itself somewhat dull for film buffs. The only question left regarding the Oscars though is: Hugh Jackman 09? One can only hope.