Award Screenings' Attendance Has Dropped Like a Rock

 

There are hundreds of film Awards 

If you're in a rush to get a seat to view the nominations for the various cinema awards, don't worry there are plenty of empty ones.

Even in H'wood, sources confirm that screenings at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater (which has 1,000 seats) has been seating only 50 or so attendees per viewing.

This is even more unusual, as many of these screenings feature Q&A sessions with talent from the films. 

COVID can't be blamed for the dismal turnouts, at least not anymore. And don't forget, these are invited guests that get to go to the Award screenings for free. 

There seems to be a great lack of enthusiasm within the cinema industry for the numerous Award organizations' nominations. CMG agrees. The number of Award shows is tiresome and monotonous - with the same old faces and lack luster presentations. Everything is soooo bland.   

There are Awards than awards. The main Awards are the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards (British Oscars), Golden Globe (The Hollywood Foreign Press), Cannes Palm D'or Award, Ce'sar Awards (French Oscar), and literally hundreds of other award presentations including Critics, Film Festivals, and almost every country has film awards.

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Cruise Gets Cold-shoulder from Golden Globes

Cruise returned 3 Golden Globe Awards in 2021

In 2021, Tom Cruise returned his three Golden Globe statues amid the controversy surrounding the award show's governing body, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, when it was revealed that none of its members were black.

This year, because of Cruise's prior action, the HFPA did not nominate him for a Best Actor award for his role in 'Top Gun, Maverick", which had a 96% favorable rating from Rotten Tomatoes and grossed over $1.4 billion globally.

And so, it goes. CMG's take on all of this is - Cruise could care less! It just makes the HFPA look more petty and less relevant than they already are.  

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The Little Known - American Film Showcase

 

The U.S. film industry is arguably the primary exporter of culture throughout the world. But the superhero, high-impact, fantasy films that dominate have hidden the idea of what the U.S. is all about. 

Although little known, about a decade ago the U.S. Department of State launched the American Film Showcase which was founded on the idea of screening U.S. made documentaries which depict American life - the good and bad. To my knowledge no other country does anything like this.

The AFS program is administered by the Cinematic School of Arts at the University of Southern California and its American documentaries have disseminated in 111 countries via US Consulates.  

Many of these films start out with dire themes but usually end as an uplifting tale of people overcoming their bad circumstances. 

In addition to screening films, the AFS sends film industry artists and employees around the world as trainers and instructors to local cinema talent. According to Gandin Mark, Director of International Programs at AFS, "there's a very intense desire to create TV content around the world and we have skills to teach that people trust."

According to, Francisco Perez, a State Department, Public Affairs Officer who has sponsored AFS programs in three continents, says "the power of the messages you can impart through film is very underestimated, by training filmmakers who are learning about human rights, democracy and values that we as Americans hold dear, it's going to influence the rest of their careers."

The AFS is a very worthwhile endeavor that spreads our culture and beliefs worldwide in a non-confrontational and useful manner. It is a program very few of us know about but should.

60 Is Hollywood's NEW 25

 Even in youth-crazed H'wood, older actors in their 50s, 60s and more, are getting the nod for high-impact roles that were once the singular domain of the 25+ group.

The actors to the left are all 70+

Be it Tom Cruise (60+) in 'Top Gun, Harrison Ford (80) in the upcoming 'Indiana Jones', 56-year-old Viola Davis in 'The Woman King', or Keanu Reeves (58) in the John Wick series, older is not an issue. 

The over 50 set is more experienced, more versatile, and has box office cache. Action scenes are now very choreographed utilizing the expertise of body movement coaches and stunt experts - age is just a number.

Once focused on the young and beautiful Hollywood has given way, in many cases, to wiser, more confident, and perhaps sexier and more realistic characters in the story.

So, be it Nicole Kidman, Holle Berry, Salma Hayek, Marica Tomei, Lucy Liu or Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, or Liam Neeson all bets are off on age sanctions.  60 is the new 30 in H'wood and it's reflected at the box office as the older A-listers garner the big grosses. 

All 50+ and going strong

Poor Oscar...He Needs a Re-branding

Say what you will about Oscar, certainly he has lost a lot of his gleam, but he is still at the top of the heap when it comes to entertainment awards. He still represents the biggest (arguably) recognition of artistic talent in the motion picture industry.

In addition to self-inflicted wounds, coming from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Oscar's biggest onslaught came from the content streamers. Over the past 7 years Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and many others have become very competitive rivals to the major studios and their top prize.

Streamers have presented problems for Oscar

But the winds seem to be shifting in Oscar's favor and this year of the 10 best picture nominations there may be none nominated from the streamers' ranks. 

The problem for Oscar however is not streamers but its loss of purpose. The Oscar presentation has lost consumer interest. It's lost its relevance to moviegoers and home viewers alike. It's out of touch with mainstream viewership which is only interested in screening films of certain genres, mainly, high-impact action and superhero, horror, and children automation.

The Academy Awards gala represents a good back-slapping event for the movie industry's glitterati. the Oscars seem to be the same folks giving accolades to each other year in and year out for films not one views.

 

Avatar 6 and 7, Really!

The sequel to Avatar will be released on Dec. 16th, Way of the Water. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th episodes of this franchise are scheduled for release in December of 2024, '26, and '28. But, I think that is too long a wait between episodes, although Way of the Water lagged Avatar by 13 years.

James Cameron, the creator, and director of the films has ideas about a 6th and 7th episode. According to Cameron, "obviously, I'm not going to be able to make Avatar movies indefinitely. I would like to train somebody how to do this. I'll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can do some other stuff."

Cameron wants the 'Avatar' saga to continue with  6th & 7th films

 Avatar, is the highest-grossing film of all time, at $2.91 billion. The previous record holder was Titanic at $1.84 billion, which is another Cameron film. Way of the Water is anticipated to do as well, but Disney, the film's distributor, has demanded that every cinema must commit to a four-week run with a 68% distribution fee of gross over the entire run. For many smaller, independent exhibitors these terms are non-starters as it precludes them from exhibiting other Christmas films because they must 'lock up' a screen for Way of the Water.

Other, notable films for the season include Pinocchio, Puss in Boots, Matilda, Encanto, Night at the Museum, etc. Way of the Water would have to have great legs to have a solid four-week run.

Way of the Water cost $350 million before marketing expenses. Cameron thinks that the film would have to gross $2 billion globally to get its money back. "You have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That's your threshold. That's your breakeven"

CMG believes Way of the Water will do extremely well at the box office, whether or not it will exceed the first film? But, with inflation and consumers' quest for escapism, it may just beat the odds.

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