'No New Oscars' Says Academy

Well, it didn't take long, as the staid and geezer-ish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences put the kibosh on its August 8th announcement that a new Oscar award for 'Achievement in Popular Film' was to be awarded.  You know, the Oscar for the movie that had the biggest gross for the year.

It seems there was a lot of backlash to the proposal from the Acad rank and file - as they want to keep the artistic theme (as if it ever existed) of the Oscars to remain undisturbed. Dawn Hudson, the Acad's CEO stated "the leadership of the Academy is still committed to the new prize in principal."

My take is that even if adding or changing several of the prize categories, the disinterest of the public and the sagging ratings of the Acad show is due to any number of reasons. Certainly the changing viewing habits of consumers and Tinseltown's over-the-top political biases are but two. The Oscars show is too long and too boring which begs the question that has been raised (and which I totally agree with) - the sale of the Oscars show by the Academy to a net-streamer, ie Netflix. 

This would eliminate the broadcast rating issue completely, make for a better show, give it the funding needed to make it a shorter but more entertaining event, and take the politics out of the whole process. If not, then the Oscars will continue to lose viewership and become more irrelevant than they already are.

Just saying,

Jim Lavorato
Entertainment Equipment Corp.
9/13/18