Oscars so relevant?
For a few years, the Oscars looked to be hanging on by a thread. Viewership was plummeting. The pandemic didn't help. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes Hollywood's biggest night, kept finding itself on the wrong side of the conversation, whether it be #Oscarssowhite, envelope-gate, the blip that was the popular Oscar, the untelevised awards or the slap.
Then a funny thing happened: Interest increased both in and outside the academy. It seemed people were excited about the movies and, they hope, the Oscars again.
“It's been an amazing year for film in general,” film academy CEO Bill Kramer said. “Our art form has never been more relevant.”
Academy president Janet Yang added that the Barbie-themed Jimmy Kimmel promo spot for Sunday's 96th Oscars ceremony has more than 35 million views, and the telecast is riding several years of ratings increases. After some rough patches, the Oscars may have finally met the moment.
A MORE DIVERSE ACADEMY
The academy as a catalyst for change is not new: It has long-standing programs for helping emerging artists (Academy Gold, the Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting and the Student Academy Awards among them). And its aggressive move to diversify its membership was in place before Yang and Kramer started, in response to #Oscarssowhite and public exposes about its ranks being largely older white men.
Now there are more than 10,500 members from more than 75 countries and territories. While parity is still far off, 20 per cent of members are from outside the U.S., 34 per cent identify as women and 18 per cent are from under-represented ethnic and racial communities.
ENGAGING MORE WITH THE PUBLIC
There has also been focus on engaging the public on social media, often drawing on the academy's vast archival material — whether that be vintage acceptance speeches or memorable moments.
The Academy's Instagram account has nearly four million followers and its Youtube channel is packed with fun clips: Leonardo Dicaprio's best actor win (54 million views), Hugh Jackman's 2009 opening number (23 million views), Chris Rock's opening monologue (16 million views) and Fred Astaire dancing at the 1970 Oscars (13 million views).
THE ACADEMY'S FUTURE
All of this plays into a different way of looking at the Oscars.
“It's important that we think about: How do we change our metric of success? We want millions and millions of people around the world to watch the show the night of, but we also want people watching it for many days after the initial run and on social in perpetuity,” Kramer said. All of these conversations will continue about the future of the industry, the academy, its membership, and, Yang said, even “weaning” the Oscars from ABC in a few years (the current contract runs through 2028).
“I think people feel gratified knowing that we can change. The reputation of the past was, you know, it was a little stodgy,” Yang said. “It's been an entrepreneurial experience while maintaining the legacy of this very, very revered institution.”