New plot twists
Oscars announce controversial changes to upcoming ceremonies
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week a few changes to future Oscars telecasts: The televised ceremony will be limited to three hours; the 2020 ceremony will be bumped up two weeks to Feb. 9; and, to the disdain of many, a new category will recognize achievement in popular film.
“We have heard from many of you about improvements needed to keep the Oscars and our academy relevant in a changing world,” president John Bailey and CEO Dawn Hudson wrote in an email sent to academy members. “The board of governors took this charge seriously.”
The changes were determined in a meeting held Tuesday night, where the board also reelected Bailey.
The Academy Awards have suffered from low ratings in recent years. This year’s nearly four-hour telecast, hosted again by Jimmy Kimmel, dropped 19 per cent from the previous year to just 26.5 million U.S. viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter — an all-time low. Bailey and Hudson added that shortened telecasts aim to deliver “a more accessible Oscars for our
viewers worldwide.” Certain categories — which have yet to be announced but will presumably include those honouring technical achievement — will be presented during commercial breaks.
Eligibility requirements for the new category have not been publicized, either, but several critics have accused the academy of pandering and lessening the stature of the best picture category.
IndieWire chief film critic Eric Kohn told The Washington Post that the “crass” category frustrates him. The Oscars seemed closer than ever before to “recognizing quality cinema across the board,” he said.
Kohn said the academy seems to be inaccurately attributing their ratings drop-off to movies like Moonlight being in the best picture category instead of the kind that make more money. “We have the MTV Movie Awards for that kind of junk,” he said.
Katey Rich, deputy editor of VanityFair.com, wrote in a column Wednesday that the new category has already been deemed the Black Panther award. The academy seems to be acting out of a fear that it will be considered out of touch if it doesn’t make room for movies like this one, she told
The Washington Post, and there have historically been a lot of international members who don’t care much for superhero movies. But times have changed. “Biases the academy has had for years are falling apart,” she continued. “Had they waited a few more years, a Marvel movie would have gotten in there if it was good enough.”
Rich was more upset by the decision to shorten the telecast by distributing some awards during the commercial breaks.
“It seems demeaning to people who work really hard,” she said.
“Craftspeople make up a huge part of the academy membership.”
Bonnie Bruckheimer, a producer and professor at the University of Southern California who has been a member of the academy since 2002, gave the organization more credit. It is “hanging on by a thread,” she told The Washington Post, and its leadership is trying whatever it can.
“I started to look at some of the articles written about it, and there’s so much anger,” she said, surprised. “And the tweets! Oh my God, the tweets.”