For filmmakers, winning an Oscar is the pinnacle of success at their craft. For 80 years now, the annual awards ceremony has been held in Los Angeles, and since the dawn of the TV era, the Oscars have mostly received excellent ratings.
But over the last few years the Oscars have gone in a strange direction. Viewership has been declining since the late 90s, and many critics feel that the 2008 ceremony was the worst produced — and most boring — Academy Awards ceremony ever.
One problem: the ceremony was essentially nothing more than clip after clip from various movies of the year. While watching clips from interesting movies can be worthwhile, too many of them in a row simply become tedious, and that was certainly the case last night. Early Nielsen results indicate that the 2008 Oscars will likely turn out to be the lowest rated Academy Awards ceremony in recent history.
Another big problem: many of the big winners last night were dark and brooding films that received critical acclaim but only moderate public support.
Jon Stewart was the host, making his second appearance on the Oscars. Overall, Stewart did a good job, though it was by no means his best work. Fans of Stewart’s “The Daily Show” on comedy central are aware of the comedian’s ability to think on his feet, and improvise hysterically funny comments and quips. However, the Jon Stewart we saw last night at the Oscars was markedly more subdued than his Comedy Central altar ego.
Stewart received criticism from his last hosting of the Oscars because of the political nature of many of his jokes. Fortunately though, the country has shifted politically somewhat since that time, and many of Stewart’s biting comments are now practically middle of the road political viewpoints.
One bright point for Stewart was when he joked that an African-American running against a female for the presidency of the United States means that “an asteroid is about to hit the statue of liberty.”
Overall, the failure of last night’s awards ceremony can not be blamed on Jon Stewart. The layout and direction of the ceremony was unusual and frankly awkward. The format of playing one extended film clip after the next seemed to suck the energy right out of the room, and at several points celebrity audience members looked visibly bored with the proceedings. Never a good sign.
So how can Tinseltown spice up the Oscars and improve the show’s ratings? Using hosts that appeal to younger audiences — such as Stewart — is a step in the right direction, but the academy needs to go much, much further. Shaking up the format of the ceremony would help significantly, including losing about 50% of the film clips. This is especially important in a year when so many of the big films have been gloomy and depressing by nature.
There’s no doubt about it; the Oscars is in a rut. Bringing in some new blood to produce and direct the show should be job number one on the Academy’s to-do list — that is if they plan on having anyone take notice of the ceremony next year.
Related Business Directory Categories:
The Hollywood writers strike continues to have implications in Tinseltown and beyond. Besides filling broadcast television with dozens of reruns, the strike is also turning into a political struggle, pitting writers and other creative types against many of the biggest “power players” in the industry.
The latest example of this struggle is an announcement by the Screen Actors Guild that 72 nominees of the annual Golden Globe awards ceremony will not be attending. ENews is reporting that SAG President Alan Rosenberg has announced that representatives of each of the nominated actors have informed the Golden Globes that their clients will not be attending the award show.
“We applaud our members for this remarkable show of solidarity,” said Rosenberg in a prepared statement Friday. The 65th annual Golden Globes is now in question, and whether the show goes airs or not, it is likely that the red carpet will be unusually bare this year.
The problem is that Hollywood actors don’t want to be seen crossing picket lines to appear on the awards show as either acceptors or presenters of awards. SAG is also encouraging its members not to appear on late-night television programs such as “The Late Show with David Letterman,” or “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.”
So far, NBC is reporting that the Golden Globes awards show will air as scheduled on January 13. NBC is presumably taking that old adage, “the show must go on,” a bit too seriously, as it is likely that few if any name celebrities will take part in the awards.
As for the negotiations that might lead to an end of the writer’s strike, industry and union officials expressed optimism Thursday that some sort of interim deal could be reached that would allow writers to contribute limited features to several of the late-night shows. Unfortunately, the Writers Guild quickly refused any interim deal, closing the door on further negotiations until industry representatives are prepared to meet their demands.
Hopefully, Hollywood industry representatives will reach an arrangement with the striking writers soon. Reruns are already a big enough problem on American television, and since the writers strike has been in effect, the problem has worsened considerably.
Entertainment shows such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien have returned to the air, without the benefit of comedy writers. Both Jay Leno and David Letterman have also begun broadcasting new shows, though the format and the quality of the shows has certainly been affected by the lack of quality comedy writing.
In a show of solidarity with the striking writers, both David Letterman and Conan O’Brien have refused to shave until the strike is settled. This past week, viewers got their first glance of a grey-bearded David Letterman, and most agree it wasn’t a pretty sight! Let’s hope the strike is settled soon, for everyone’s sake.
Related Business Directory Categories:
The Golden Globe Awards are annual American awards for motion pictures and television programs that are given to the film and television personalities in a formal dinner. Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has been announcing these awards every year since 1944. The first Golden Globe awards function was held in 1944 at 20th Century Fox studios. Since then it has taken place in various locations like Beverly Hills Hotel, Hollywood Knickerbockers Club and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was founded more than 60 years ago by a group of Los Angeles-based journalists working for overseas publications. The Golden Globe Awards has enabled the non profit Hollywood Foreign Press Association to help the future film and television professionals through scholarships and also to give a lot of funds as charity to the entertainment industry. It has donated more than $6.5 million to the entertainment industry in the past twelve years. In 2005 alone, the donations were more than one million dollars.
The Golden Globe awards have become a major film awards. Since 1996, the Golden Globe Awards concludes with the Oscars. The broadcast of Golden Globe Awards is rated as the third most watched show that is just behind the prestigious Oscars and the Grammy Awards. Journalists who are part of the association typically present the awards at the ceremony. For motion pictures, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association currently presents awards in the following categories: Picture (Drama and Musical Or Comedy), Actor (Drama and Musical Or Comedy), Actress (Drama and Musical Or Comedy), Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Screenplay, Original Score, Original Song, Foreign Film and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. In the year 1950s,the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided to set up an exceptional award that identifies exceptional handouts to the entertainment industry. To give significance to the award and identify its subject as an international figure in the entertainment industry, the award was presented to Cecil B. DeMille in 1952. The official name of this award thus became the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Other awards for achievements not in motion pictures include: Television Series (Drama and Musical Or Comedy), Mini Series Or Television Movie, Actor (Drama Series, Musical Or Comedy Series and Mini Series Or Television Movie), Actress (Drama Series, Musical Or Comedy Series and Mini Series Or Television Movie), Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress. Signifying the impact that animated films have had on the film industry, the Hollywood Foreign Press declared in early 2006 that a Golden Globe would be awarded for the Best Animated Feature at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards of that year.
The eligibility period for the Golden Globe Awards starts October 1, which is not like the Academy Awards that has its eligibility beginning from 1 Jan. The Golden Globe Awards are then given based on the votes of 86 typically part time journalists living in Hollywood and associated with media outside of the United States. Golden Globe Awards have become one of the most awaited as well as recognizable Awards of the US entertainment industry.
Comments