Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Why the Academy's new Ten Best Picture system is a joke

The Academy announced a few months ago that this year they would nominate ten films in the Best Picture Oscar category rather than five. Although they deny it, rumor has it the Academy is only doing this because ABC has been on their case about the flaming decline of ratings every year.

Its been known for years that the Academy is totally disconnected from the real world of filmmaking because they keep nominating films no one -- and I mean NO ONE -- ever sees. Therefore, viewers are avoiding the Oscars telecast like the plague.

The group has degraded to a mockery of itself. Today members of the Academy are solely focused on trying desperately to prove to themselves that they are "artists" and that Hollywood is not just a community of soul-sucking, money-hungry businessmen. But the more they try to prove that, the more the rest of the world laughs at them. As a result, they refuse to nominate any type of popular film that actually made a profit.

So, in a move to draw more viewers -- and so that ABC won't drop the revenue-losing broadcast -- the Academy will nominate ten films. We can safely assume they will nominate five "little dramas" like they always do. Also, while I seriously doubt they'll nominate any hugely successful (i.e. popular) films, they may also nominate five other films that are closer to what people actually want to see.

All right, since I'm short on space and time, I'll ignore the fact that they are insulting the directors and writers who actually made those additional five films by not giving them a nomination, too. Instead, let's focus on the fact that this whole thing is a total sham.

No matter what ten films are nominated, the Academy will no doubt end up choosing another of their darling little dramas no one saw as the big Oscar winner. That means the process of nominating the other five more semi-popular films is a waste to time designed to attract more ratings -- and nothing else.

The Academy is again proving they think mainstream moviegoers are all idiots by trying to "fake them out" this way. Thing is, they aren't idiots (well, not ALL of them). Oscar viewers will figure out very quickly -- and most already have -- that the Academy is just pulling a fast one. Their nomination of ten films is no more sincere than their belief -- or delusion -- that Hollywood is composed of individuals who care only about "art."

And then ratings will once again drop. Like a rock.

So...what then, Academy?