Oscars Win More Eyes When Giving Gold to Blockbusters
By Andrew Wineke, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Feb. 28–What the Oscars need is some star power.
I know that sounds ridiculous, like selling ice to Eskimos, but hear me out. Sunday’s Academy Awards telecast was the lowest-rated in Oscar’s 80-year history.
Was it host Jon Stewart? Can’t imagine he’s the problem, since he was at least as funny as during his last stint two years ago — and much nicer.
Was it the 80-odd montages and retrospectives that filled the broadcast? Can’t be — Oscar has never loved anything more than a retrospective.
Was it the red carpet? Well, there was a dearth of ridiculous dresses and hairstyles this year, but Gary Busey making threatening comments to Ryan Seacrest more than made up for it.
No, it’s simpler than that. The Oscars live and die by the films they honor.
Give best picture to a “Titanic” or a “Forrest Gump,” and you’ve got big ratings. Give best picture to a “No Country For Old Men” or “Crash” or even “Million Dollar Baby,” and you’ve got trouble.
This isn’t rocket science. People care more about movies they’ve seen. You plunk down $8 for a ticket, you spend two hours of your time, you enjoy yourself, voila — you now have a vested interest in how that film does at the Oscars.
In years past, blockbusters have taken center stage at the Oscars as often as not. Just four years ago, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” took home best picture, along with $377 million dollars in ticket sales. In 2002, it was “A Beautiful Mind.” In 2001, “Gladiator.” And so on.
It’s only in the last few years that Oscar has lavished his golden charms on films that have zero chance of cracking the top 20 in the year-end box office list. Of this year’s nominees, only “Juno” has passed $100 million at the box office, a figure that’s the bargain basement these days for blockbuster status.
So the question is, have voters’ tastes changed? Are mainstream pictures worse and art house films better? Is this just a short-term trend that will be forgotten the next time Steven Spielberg picks up a camera?
In my mind, the answers are yes, no and no, and maybe.
As far as voters’ tastes go, there’s something going on in Hollywood. I mean there’s no reason Matt Damon didn’t deserve at least a nomination for “The Bourne Ultimatum.” The Bourne trilogy proved that making a thinking man’s action movie is not an oxymoron.
Likewise, mainstream flicks are no better or worse today than they were a decade ago. Take a peek at 2007′s topgrossing films and you’ll find junk (“Ghost Rider”), decent middle-brow films (“Enchanted”) and genuine quality (“Charlie Wilson’s War,”"American Gangster,”"Ratatouille”).
The art house is also no better or worse than in years past. Dark, heavy features like “In the Valley of Elah” were never going to bring in the crowds, and that film received mixed reviews among critics.
While I hope that this downward Oscar-viewership trend changes — because I enjoy the Oscars and like seeing quality, big-budget films succeed, prompting Hollywood to make more quality, big-budget films — I’m uncertain it will.
Will George Clooney’s “Leatherheads” please crowds and critics? Will Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man” break the superhero awards curse that’s bedeviled “Spider-Man” and “The X-Men”? Can Spielberg, Harrison Ford and a wellworn bull whip capture the old magic in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”?
I’m not hopeful, but I will buy tickets to all three — and I’ll be watching the Oscars next year no matter what they end up nominating.
– New arrivals
— KRDO/Channel 13 hired Samantha Anderson to join Joe Dominguez on the weekend anchor desk. Anderson comes from KREX in Grand Junction. Also joining KRDO this week is meteorologist Josh Poland, who comes from a station in Lima, Ohio. Poland will report and do the weekend morning weather reports.
— KKTV/Channel 11 promoted assistant news director Liz Haltiwanger to news director.
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Copyright (c) 2008, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.
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