Sometimes the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will do something very smart. Like when they sent out hundreds of new invites last year to combat the criticism of having a largely old/white/male demographic. Not only was it the smart thing to do, it was the right thing to do, especially when it came to bringing attention to a more diverse set of films that would’ve slipped through the cracks because it may not appeal to traditional voters.
This is not a smart move, though.
On the cuff of re-electing cinematographer, John Bailey, for a second term as Academy President, the board of governors have approved several big changes, which are discussed more thoroughly in this Hollywood Reporter article, but basically what happened was, the Academy sent a message to their members outlining two major changes, as well as an earlier air date for the ceremony.
Here are the two big changes that have caught people off guard. First is the desire for a three-hour broadcast. The shows have been notoriously long, and their way to fix that is to apparently “present select categories live during commercial breaks (categories to be determined). The winning moments will then be edited and aired later in the broadcast.” Meaning some categories – most likely the technical awards – will not be shown until after the ceremony is over in some form of a clip show.
There’s two big reasons I don’t like this change. One is that it’s incredibly disrespectful to the folks who put their time and effort in their craft, only to have their big moment done during a commercial break. Second, what if one of those winners make a politically charged speech? Airing the winners after the fact gives the people behind the scenes the time to weed out ones they don’t like and have them altered accordingly. I still remember when Life of Pi won for its visual effects, and when the guy started talking about the financial struggles of a VFX company, which is a widespread problem in the industry, the mic was cut off. Airing some of these winners after the fact could set a bad precedent. Plus, taking out a bunch of speeches will only give more time to terrible comedy sketches by the host, and that just sounds like a really bad time.
The other big change that has people talking is the inclusion of an “outstanding achievement in popular film” award, which is beyond ridiculous and pandering. They first expanded the Best Picture roster a decade ago so they could theoretically include films that were more popular, but that hasn’t led to much. Now, they’re trying again by giving it its own category, and it just reeks of desperation. I mean, wasn’t the whole reason for diversifying their membership so films that wouldn’t previously be recognized will get a better chance of it? Do they really think a film like Black Panther doesn’t have a shot at Best Picture, unless it has its own category alongside other blockbusters? Would Get Out have been moved to this category, or could it theoretically get nominated in both this and Best Picture? They don’t currently have any eligibility requirements, but are working on it, so it’s clear they haven’t fully thought this through.
Of course, this is all just a way for the Academy to find a way to increase viewership, nothing more, nothing less. The 89th Academy Awards in 2017 had 33 million viewers, and the 90th, which aired earlier this year, had 26.5 million viewers, making it the least watched broadcast in Oscar history, despite being the follow up to the Moonlight/La La Land debacle. It’s especially insulting considering people have spent years trying to get the Academy to consider adding categories that recognize stunts, casting, motion capture performances, voice over, etc. These are far more compelling ideas for new categories, but this is what we get instead.
I’ve been watching these broadcasts since I was young, and it wasn’t necessarily because I was invested in who was going to win, but I thought it was a fun celebration of movies and the people who work tirelessly to make them. Granted, most of the winners are ultimately decided by how much money they put into campaigning, so it’s not like quality was ever the true deciding factor, but at least with the new members they recently got, it looked like there was going to be some big changes in the way the nominations were going to look moving forward, especially after this year’s ceremony, but…not like this.