I make no secret about it. Aside from Christmas, the Oscars are my favorite day of the year… always has been… even before the birth of The Movie Blog. I’ve been a film fan all my life. My earliest childhood memory (no joke) is being taken to see Star Wars for the very first time (I’m sure a part of the reason it’s still my all time favorite movie). So with film always being a passion of mine, you can understand why the one day of the year that celebrates the achievements of the industry is a big deal to me. I almost count down the days to the Oscars each year too. It’s that big of a deal to me.
However, last week on the Uncut LIVE show, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor mentioned that the Oscars were “next weekend”, and it caught me totally by surprise. It’s not that my interest in the Oscars has waned at all, on the contrary, with all the best picture nominees this year being excellent films, I’m more interested in the awards show than ever. So why did the Oscars sneak up on me this year? The writers’ strike.
With all of the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the now thankfully settled writers’ strike, the Oscars got sort of lost in the mix for me. Not only was there drama going on around the strike, but the strike held the potential of canceling the show (even though Oscar producers insisted the show would go on regardless). With all of that, the actual date for the Oscars became inconsequential. Thus my mild surprise when I realized it was this weekend.
I don’t think I’m the only one in this boat either. With all the uncertainly surrounding it, I think a lot of people have either forgotten, or at least marginalized in their own thoughts the fact that the Oscars are indeed this Sunday. Even media outlets have had far less coverage and buzz pieces about the event. Marketing for the show is down and just less people in general seem to be talking about it.
On top of the Strike, there is another factor to take into consideration for the lack of buzz about the Oscars this year. There are no blockbusters or high profile films up for the big award this year (with the possible exception of Juno which has made just over $130 million… more than all the other nominees combined). That isn’t a reflection on the QUALITY of the films nominated this year… but it does mean that a LOT of people haven’t seen ANY of the movies nominated for best picture this year. If people haven’t seen the films, they have less personal vested interest in the awards. If you don’t have someone to root for, you’re less likely to be interested in the process. As great as Juno, No Country and There Will Be Blood are… almost no one has seen them, and that doesn’t help the Oscars at all.
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m NOT suggesting that the Oscars should nominate film based on popularity. NEVER. All I’m pointing out is that there will be years where all the best films had no one see them… and that’s just a part of the game. Unfortunetly for the Oscars, that phenomenon is happening on the same year a writers’ strike just ended.
To compound the problem, last year’s show was a dreadful mess with a dreadful host, and yet again this year, they’re turning to a TV personality to host the movie industry’s big event. I love Jon Stewart. I think he’s the funniest man on TV right now… but he shouldn’t be hosting the Oscars. His last outing was “ok” (1000x better than the Ellen train wreck), but lacked any magic at all. I’ve said for years, the Oscars should have a legitimate movie star hosting the show. That doesn’t mean it will always WORK and that just any movie star should host (Whoopie anyone?) but that should at least be their staring point. George Clooney would be a great host for example.
The point is, The Oscars are this Sunday, and I can’t remember a year when less people seemed to care. Between the writers’s strike and the lack of any high profile films being nominated, it’s really not surprising. Traditionally, the Oscars are the second most watched television event of the year just behind the Superbowl, but don’t expect the ratings to be huge this year.
Do you think there are other factors involved in so few people talking about the Oscars this year?
