As much as I enjoyed the Oscars last night, it appears that many people decided to skip out on the program and watch something else. We get wind of some disappointing numbers from the hallowed halls of the Hollywood Reporter:
According to ABC’s very preliminary household metered market overnights, the awards averaged a 21.9 rating/33 share. That’s down a sharp 21% from last year and the lowest on record in at least 20 years. The more accurate fast national ratings have been delayed by Nielsen and should be available midday.
Last night’s Oscar telecast, where “No Country for Old Men” took the top prize, was expected to underperform given the lack of movies with broad boxoffice appeal vying for best picture. ABC and producers also were unsure if the Oscars were going forward with a full production until the writers strike was resolved Feb. 12, resulting in last-minute scramble to prepare and market the show.
Well, this sucks. I thought this was an outstanding year for the Oscars, with a great selection of films up for awards I am a little disappointed that interest wasn’t there for the broadcast. The program is notoriously long and I am wondering if people are losing their patience for awards shows, or just have no real desire to see them anymore. I am scratching my head for reasons and if you guys have your own ideas, please share your thoughts.
I wonder if the sheer number of films that are being released are having an impact on the oscars. 20 years ago, everyone was able to see the same films because the choice was slimmer every weekend. Now with a glut of films always coming down the pipe, people are getting more variety, but we are not sharing stories like we used to. People are getting segmented into smaller viewing groups and many people have not had a chance to see all of the nominated films. It’s hard to get excited about nominated films when you haven’t seen them, and you certainly will not sit through an oscar broadcast.
This is disheartening news. Jon Stewart did an outstanding job, the show had a good pace, the nominees were solid and the show gets piss-poor ratings. International friends, do you think anything can be done to save the Oscars as a television event or is it dammed without blockbuster nominees?
The Academy Award voting members are a bunch of brain dead morons who wouldn’t know a good movie of it came and hit them. I bet most of them have never known any life outside L.A. I bet they all think we should still be excited by Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies, or safe, in your face, rubbish like Crash. The world has move on. If the Academy is unwilling to do the same they should be disbanded. The Oscar is clearly the worst movie award that exists on the planet and its high status is baffling to any one with a good taste in films.
“True, the Best Picture award is voted by everyone but the proportion of actors voting is much higher than in other categories.”
Um… No. The same number of actors voting on Best Picture have a chance to vote on all the other categories. It’s the nominees that are decided by each category’s specialists.
(Or are you saying that because there are more actor voting than any other type of member…and because actors stay as voting actors longer than some of the other categories’ voters, there’s a higher probable rate of dementia…that their cred is suspect from the word ‘Go’? If so, doesn’t that mean that EVERYTHING is skewed, because actors vote on everything…?)
“This says a lot about Oscars credibility. If AMPAS is wondering why the ratings are falling this is the answer.”
With all due respect, this viewpoint is myopic. (Just for starters.) As I’ve droned on about here, perceived ‘credibility’ ain’t the reason for falling numbers.
True, the Best Picture award is voted by everyone but the proportion of actors voting is much higher than in other categories. How can we expect ageing ignorant homophobes like Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine to understand modern films dealing with modern issues? Both actors went public in admitting they never watched Brokeback Mountain even though most respected film critics around the world thought it was a great film. This says a lot about Oscars credibility. If AMPAS is wondering why the ratings are falling this is the answer. Since Brokeback Mountain lost the top award I and quite a number of my friends vowed never to watch the Oscars, and we stuck to our word.
“Instead we have bird brained actors (who wouldn’t know a good film if it came and hit them)voting.”
Actually, AMPAS in its entirety votes on the Best Picture award. So this means you’re dismissing the credentials of over 6,500 qualified personnel.
Interesting.
The Oscars suck and have been for quite some time. The Best Picture winners in recent years have been really awful: Crash, Chicago, Million Dollar Baby, Braveheart, No Country for Old Men etc. etc…. All very mediocre films that will be forgotten in a decade. The Best Picture Oscar takes little consideration of what film critics pick us the best film of each year. Instead we have bird brained actors (who wouldn’t know a good film if it came and hit them)voting. The result: Turkeys such as the above mentioned.
@probitionate: I totally agree with your last post! Well written! :)
“While the stars today have great talent, they lack the “ooomph” that the stars of the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and even 70s had. That will never come back.”
And we’re not the people who lived in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and even 70s. We’re exposed to a HELL of a lot more than they were. Back then, there was more mystery about EVERYTHING. Can you imagine WWII being covered as on-the-spot as the Iraq war is being delivered, live-and-in-person?
Sorry, I don’t by the nostalgic ‘Those were the days’ viewpoint. If you took all the ‘big stars’ from ‘way back then’ and brought them forward to today’s ‘everywhere and all the time’ coverage, you sure wouldn’t see giants. You’d see the same degree of ‘humanness’ and normalcy that we’ve all come to regard celebrities having…given that there’s no opportunity for ‘mystery’ anymore…and really, the buying-public doesn’t want it, anyway. They want to have 24/7 access to everything that piques their interest. An insatiable appetite, indeed. (And then we blame the celebrities for being annoyingly ubiquitous!)
I think the main problem the Oscars are so lackluster is that the stars aren’t as big and mythical as they used to be. When you think of giants like John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, David Niven, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman or Clint Eastwood, you’re thinking about huge personalities that seemed bigger than life. There was mystery.
Nowadays, we know what kind of toilet paper Brad Pitt uses and which underwear Tom Cruise purchases and how many facelifts some actress has had. We see them way too much on television and magazines. There’s nothing special left.
While the stars today have great talent, they lack the “ooomph” that the stars of the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and even 70s had. That will never come back.
The MTV Movie Awards are so much better.
To nbakid2000:
Actually, it’s less that I’m ‘out of touch with reality’, and more that I’m fed up with so many people who seemingly have a very disturbing regard for celebrity. As in ‘Ooh, I love it when they give me what I want!’ and yet ‘Celebrities should keep their mouths shut about politics!’ What I’ve found is that most people who take umbrage at actors voicing their opinions (in the US, not so much in the UK, where they don’t have their heads firmly planted up their rear, fundamental orifices the way they do over here) by and large are FAR less informed about the issues of the day, and indeed, FAR less qualified to mouth off about them than the celebrities they get so incensed about.
I’d grant much more listening time to someone like George Clooney than the average American politician. At least he’s impassioned about things for the right reasons. (For starters, he doesn’t do what he does as a gambit to get re-elected.)
Probitionate, you’re clearly out of touch with reality.
Do you really think most Americans actually care what George Clooney or someone like that has to say about the current administration? That everyone perks up and goes, “Well GEORGE CLOONEY THINKS….” and actually takes note of his views in a positive way that somehow influences their decisions in voting?
Does anyone else here on the Movie Blog take heart when celebrities speak on politics?
I’m from Sweden and I watched the Oscars with a friend. It was the first time I watched it live. It’s not every year a Swedish network/channel broadcasts the event. I thought it was a very good show! I recorded it with my VCR a copule of years ago but I can’t remember who was host. Anyway, I think that Jon Stewart did a great job! I don’t know why the ratings were so low.
Well can you not deny that the majority of those who work in the film industry, particularly at the level where they are associated with the Oscars event, are a WORLD apart from the average person on the street?
Clearly I have very little in common with a millionaire actress or film producer, and I’m in utter denial if I think I do. There’s no animosity in that, I can accept it.
Besides, the Oscars ARE just for ‘that society’, since I can’t recall ever getting MY voting slip in the mail.
I can sit at home and right reviews online. I can buy merchandise for my favorite films. I have my ways all year round of showing my appreciation for my favorite artists of the cinematic medium. What do I care if some elitist group incorrectly think Golden Compass had better visual effects than Transformers?
I’ve purchased my $50 special edition DVD and a $150 Bumblebee figure. I paid to see the film 5 times at the cinema. There’s my appreciation shown, regardless of if they win any Oscars or not, I still love the film and appreciate the effort put into it.
I accept that the Oscars are for the industry. Good for them. But I don’t need to spend my time watching it.
In the end, The Oscars are for the industry. The Oscar broadcast, for the public. Even if the numbers dropped so much that it was no longer a major tv event, the ceremony, the handing out of statuettes would continue. As would online caterwauling.
As will my bemusement at phrases such as ‘that society’…one that leaves me wondering how on earth people on a site that reflects a certain appreciation, even genuflection towards a medium, an art form, can be so…well, ‘disful’. Fascinating.
probitionate, what’s being discussed here is why people don’t seem to care about the Oscars anymore. Okay, you might, but clearly many more people don’t.
And the reasons being given are quite valid. So what if someone won an award… why should I then care about their political views? These people earn millions of dollars doing what they do… so why should I devote 4 hours of MY time to watching them congratulate themselves.
I give my thanks to those I appreciate by paying to see their movies. If I really like it, I’ll buy the DVD and other merchandise. Congratulations… you just got more money from me.
I don’t need to see these people get awards from their buddies. I especially don’t need to see people I don’t care for, getting awards.
I think perhaps overall, the “special” feel of the Oscars is gone. In this day and age, we are able to find out about celebs constantly in the media. And as for awards… in the past it felt that this was everyone’s way of congratulating the best in the business.
In this day and age, it’s clear the common man has no say in this event. This is purely for *that* society. We can spend all year now on blogs and message boards giving our own views on who and what we like. We don’t have to live vicariously through presenters once a year when our favorite film wins an award.
“It’s all about *that* society patting themselves on the back (IMO).”
As opposed to doing what?!? Um…this is an awards ceremony. It’s for the industry. You know, ‘that society’.
Like the Grammys.
Or the Man Booker.
Or the Pulitzer.
Or the Tonys.
Or the Emmys.
God, the attitude of ‘ownership’ of film on the part of movie-goers, what I’ve referred to as a proprietorial relationship, never ceases to amaze me.
Well, I for one don’t watch the Oscars and could care less. It’s all about *that* society patting themselves on the back (IMO). The best film of the year (IMO) was Ratatouille, and it sucks that it could never win “best picture” since they added that “best animated film” category. To me, that essentially side lines everything Pixar (or other studios) does.
Really? How on earth can anybody be surprised by this news? When the combined box office totals of all the Best Picture nom’s barely equal the opening weekend of Shrek 3. Add the fact that none of the songs had any radio play and the host had a sub-par performance in his last outing the writing seemed to be on the wall for this show. They really needed some big name host to create a splash and some buzz for the show. Even if he did a great job, he’s not the kind of guy that “puts butts in seats” as they say.
“No, political statements have no business at an awards show for movies. No one wants to hear their political views, they want to hear about the movies.”
LOL!
The vast majority of people who don’t want to hear what Hollywood has to say about politics are conservatives…who seem to think that politicians are the only ones who should be listened to. Which is funny, considering who they usually elect.
These are acceptance speeches. The people giving them have earned the right to say what they want during their 60 seconds. Don’t like this freedom of speech? Don’t watch.
No, political statements have no business at an awards show for movies. No one wants to hear their political views, they want to hear about the movies.
You’re wrong. You may care what Hollywood has to say about politics, but the vast majority of us don’t. Hence the reason years ago Will Smith was going to not attend the Grammys or some such event – because it was too political.
I think the best observation here is that the “celebrity event” cache of the evening has been diminished by a glut of tabloid television celebrity chasing and over exposure. I think there really is something to this. Either people get their celebrity fix every day from a variety of sources or they are so burned out that they cynically view the Oscars (as reflected on these very posts) as just a chance for “Hollywood Types” to pat themselves on the back (a view I do not subscribe to).
The Oscars used to be one of the few times you could get that big movie star glamor fix. Now there’s gossip shit on every minute of every day.
I’m sick of people complaining about celebrities speaking out on political issues as a reason to hate the show – clearly coming from right wing Republicans who can’t take a little dose of reality and truth… Which interestingly enough didn’t happen last night except for the two times it made the most sense for them to speak out on a “political” topic- the winners of documentary short and features who were referencing their films.
ALso there’s just no accounting for the very bad taste of the general movie going audience. They are the ones who lost out not seeing all the nominated films. It’s tragic that people don’t see these excellent films and only care if some blockbuster is nominated. Sad that they haven’t made all the nominees blockbusters by just getting off their butts and going to see great film instead of rushing to Wild Hogs, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Last year they saved all the major categories until the end, where I couldn’t stay awake long enough to see them. I didn’t think there’d be any suprises, either (just follow the Globes results). Finally, no broad major blockbuster movies that I cared for. I hope the Academy gets the message that no one cares for their bore fest.
:)
http://www.mcnblogs.com/mcindie/archives/2008/02/the_oscars_gone.html
I think between the fact that people can get the winners online as soon as they are announced, and that all the best moments can be seen on youtube the next day, people no longer have patience for a bloated awards show. Sure, last night was more slimmed down than some years past, but people don’t know that before they tune in.
Personally, I like awards shows. My friends and I, serious movie watchers all (grad students) do a pool and watch at a bar. I love the red carpet fashions. I love getting exposure to movies I might not think to see otherwise, even though I am in NY and can see everything from The Transformers to The Counterfeiters if I like. And I think it’s important, in the era of movies like Meet the Spartans, that the Oscars this year highlighted some films with exceptional artistic merit. This was a year of really challenging films of the sort that the Academy often overlook in favor of sentiment. Not one of those acting winners played a good or traditionally likable person, for instance. Speaking as someone who loves when movies challenge her, I say bravo! (PS–I loved Juno too!) I only hope the low ratings don’t discourage the Academy from rewarding such work in the future.
I’m with Steven. I consider myself a pretty serious movie fan, but I don’t feel the need to waste 4 hours of my time watching a bunch of self-congratulatory back-slapping. That’s 4 hours that I could be using to watch a good movie instead; case in point, instead of watching the Oscars last night, I watched Eastern Promises on DVD, then hopped on the internet where it took me all of 2 minutes to see who picked up statues.
Award shows in general are just boring.
With the exception the year LOTR: Return of the King dominated i have never cared about the Oscars or any of the movies nominated.
I have better things to do than sit and watch a bunch of Hollywood fakes go through the motions accepting awards for films that are generally boring to me.
The Oscars just don’t matter anymore.
Award shows in general are just boring.
With the exception the year LOTR: Return of the King dominated i have never cared about the Oscars or any of the movies nominated.
I have better things to do than sit and watch a bunch of Hollywood fakes go through the motions accepting awards for films that are generally boring to me.
Maybe if more films like Lord of the Rings get nominated ill pay more attention.
The Oscars just don’t matter anymore.
I liked the slim down version of the Oscars. Stewart did a great job and kept the flow moving. I really liked that he brought Markéta Irglová, winner of Best Original Song for Once, on stage so she could give her acceptance speech. Very classy.
I think the Oscars need to be more of an event for people to watch the whole thing. Let there be movie trailers during the commercial break. The Academy doesn’t allow this but it would be a great way to showcase films coming out and keep people watching. Have better commercials. The Superbowl has great commercials. The Oscars should too. And they’ve been so tame in the last couple of years. Those that come and win should be a little more off the wall so people want to tune in to see if anything crazy is going to happen like Cuba Gooding’s acceptance speech.
Award shows in general are just boring.
With the exception the year LOTR: Return of the King dominated i have never cared about the Oscars or any of the movies nominated.
I have better things to do than sit and watch a bunch of Hollywood fakes go through the motions.
The Oscars just don’t matter anymore.
A number of things….
1) As to the films unseen by the public…whose fault is that, really? The general public, who would rather see “Meet The Sparatans” than any of the five nominees for best picture. Also, while she gave an outstanding performance, and deserved that Best Actress Oscar…while I’m sure ratings are high in the UK and France, let’s be up front here. The US audiences have, for the most part, been brainwashed in thinking that foriegn language films have no place here. I actually caught up with La Vie En Rose last month on DVD, curious in regards to Marion Cotillard’s Golden Globe win.
Yes, maybe there was some familiarity with ‘No Country” and “Juno”, but not enough.
It’s not like we have a year of ‘Titanic’ or “Lord Of The Rings’ ‘Braveheart’ etc. where the majority of people have seen the films.
2) The Oscars moved at a brisk pace last night. I also think there were fewer commercials. That’s a problem. If during a break, someone flipped a channel or went for a soda and chips run, they come back…they miss something. If they start missing much…what is the point..?
I also think they can stop kissing thier own asses and get on with the show. I also think it is time to do away with the Best Animated film category.. The only reason it was implemented is that “Hollywood” bitched- bitched!- when great animated films like Disney’s ‘Beauty and The Beast” got a Best Picture nomination. But if it must stay- I’m going to suggest something even MORE unpopular than my previous statement: Take out the Best Sound and/or Sound Effects Editing categories and put them in the “tech awards” pre-recored event from the night before.
3) Anne Hathaway is hot. Tilda Swinton has some good looks. But when fine actresses such as these show up to the event in the…..the…the…whatever the hell they were wearing, and you have good actresses like Nicole Kidman and Cameron Diaz who have a gazillion dollars and theier million dollar hairstylist makes them look unglamourous…yuck. I’m not a big fashion critic. I am not gay. I still say yuck. Look, if the talent we love shows up looking like refugees from Barnum and Baileys Circus, the temptation to change the channel is there.
4) The acceptance speeches. There was Brad Bird’s little tale, one of the FX guys from Golden Compass throwing his hands up to his head in total shock (wonder why?) and bringing out the second half of the Best Song duo to give her thanks. Javier Bardem’s speech was also nice. Diabo Cody teared up. But y’know, when the majority of acceptance speeches are less moving, emotional or, heaven forbid, Roberto Begini enthusiastic…ho hum. Dumb Dumb. It’s even worse when the winners go off on a Xenu moment (looking at you, Tilda, and your black roman half-robe!) …Overall, ‘follow the dream/don’t give up speeches can be corny, but folks eat that up. When it’s nothing more than thank you and good night…”I don’t really care” impression. (I don’t think you follow me, it’s worth a shot) Why should, me, mr. Film fan-TV viewer.
5) ENOUGH with animated characters introducing Animated short films and the like. It personally makes me cringe.
Award shows in general are just boring.
With the exception the year LOTR: Return of the King dominated i have never cared about the Oscars or any of the movies nominated.
I have better things to do than sit and watch a bunch of Hollywood go through the motions.
The Oscars just don’t matter anymore.
i cant speak for everybody else, but i grew tired of watching a program of people getting awards. i mean it’s great for people to be awarded by their peers, but what does that have to do with my entertainment. i don’t need an award show to tell me “no country” was a good movie, and when an award doesn’t go to something i like (like transformers not winning special effects) does that mean the golden compass was better? I don’t think so, but in the end i don’t care
i’m sure there’s other reasons, but i think people want to be entertain, and theres nothing entertaining about this award show
“I wonder if the sheer number of films that are being released are having an impact on the oscars. 20 years ago, everyone was able to see the same films because the choice was slimmer every weekend. Now with a glut of films always coming down the pipe, people are getting more variety, but we are not sharing stories like we used to. People are getting segmented into smaller viewing groups and many people have not had a chance to see all of the nominated films. It’s hard to get excited about nominated films when you haven’t seen them, and you certainly will not sit through an oscar broadcast.”
First off, I’d like to see your figures regarding the numbers of films being exhibited twenty years ago vs now.
Secondly, I don’t understand your second point, about ‘sharing stories’. Are you talking about ‘water cooler chat’? Or elevator small-talk? Whatever you’re referencing, surely this has been more than compensated for by blogging and message boards.
Thirdly, what does …”people getting segmented into smaller viewing groups and many people have not had a chance to see all of the nominated films…” have to do with anything? What are you inferring here? That because niche-watching is more prevalent today than 20 years ago (again, I’d love to see figures on this) it means that the nominees just aren’t being viewed? Really?!?
And finally, I think that your own viewing habits biases are showing; what do you suppose the average viewer’s watching habits are in terms of the number of nominated films seen? I’d be willing to bet that it’s (annually) much lower than yours or any of your co-horts. You’re mistaking the real reason *many* people have been watching The Oscars over the years. It’s not a ‘film event’. It’s a ‘celebrity event’. And with the overabundance of media options where this is concerned (ie, that everywhere you look, there’s another news report, be it online, on tv or at the supermarket checkout), the broadcast simply isn’t the event it used to be. But surely this isn’t a surprise to anyone…
Just as film-watching has less to do with visiting a cinema these days, so does the cachet of The Oscars broadcast have a lesser value as the years progress. This isn’t the Super Bowl. Not any more.
A. Way too long
B. Awards given to movies few people have seen (There have only been a few notable exceptions in the past few years of “big” movies getting nominated)
C. Fucking songs; cut them and make another montage. Save everyone the time.
D. Too Long….
My wife was always a HUGE fan of the Oscar telecast, but this year she didn’t even turn it on for background noise.
Why?
Because not only have the awards selections become increasingly political, so have the accepters on stage, using the event as a platform for espousing their socio-political beliefs.
Also, increasingly more and more of those “honored” are showing less and less class in general. It used to be about glitz and class but these days it seems like they’re putting lipstick on a pig.
Now that doesn’t apply to EVERYONE in attendance, so don’t dogpile for that statement.
I agree with her and I think most people are just turned off by the whole thing these days.
Actually my favorite recipients are those that work behind the scenes. They’re generally the most earnestly humble.
Vic
I watched some of it (flipping between the Oscars, Dirty Jobs, and Four Brothers), but overall I just wasn’t interested. Lots of movies I haven’t seen yet plus a bunch of award show bullshit I couldn’t care less about. Anything interesting that happens(ed) is on YouTube in a matter of hours, and I’m perfectly happy just reading a list of the winners.
I’m glad I caught the Falling Slowly performance though.
I try and seen somewhere between 3-5 films out in theaters each week and I still hadn’t seen a few of the nominations… but then again, I watched the entire oscar broadcast anyways. Maybe it has to do with the movies nominated. I felt there were many other films this year that deserved awards, rather than The Bourne Ultimatum, for example. The foreign film category was pretty weak too, The Counterfeiters was an excellent film, but not oscar worthy.
That was brought up at our Oscar party.
It certainly seems shady.
The thing is, people like crap and don’t know what quality is.
Heck even a good number of people who post here where upset that Transformers didn’t get any awards.
What (you) people want are the MTV Movie Awards, not the Academy Awards.
I’ve become bitter and distant due to the writers strike. But my real whining started back when Titanic cleaned house.
why the hell wasn’t Brad Renfro on the In Memoriam? That’s fucked up, leaving him out like that.