The ACADEMY AWARDS had their annual show.. the musical stars performing the hits from movies that virtually no one has seen... the political messages that are often seemingly said in an attempt to gain applause rather than real world change.. and the celebration of the people who are mired in the culture of Hollywood. With all that elitism and fanfare..
Last night, the atmosphere was a little dour.. Rain was drenching the typically vibrant red carpet.. Joan Rivers, who passed away in late 2014, wasn't there to entertain the crowd by laughing at the nature of those Hollyweird crowd. Incidentially, perhaps some revenge from the Oscars took place as Rivers was left out of the tradiational rememberance that the Academy puts on each year.. that may be conjecture. But logical if you think it through..
Some news accounts prior to the event asked the question: Do the Oscars still matter?
The safe answer after seeing the ratings from the big show clearly tell their own story: Even if the Oscars still matter, less and less of us care each year.
The vicious ratings are being reported on various sources.. Dominic Patten in DEADLINE writes this,
Other years were worse though.. like 2008 and 2003. But the phasing out of TV and cinema itself may be apart of this story.. Less people are watching TV. Presumably, as technology morphs, less people will find the movie theater experience important as well..
Most people talking around water coolers today don't know much about the movie that won best picture, BIRDMAN. However they are most likely expressing their surprise that Lady Gaga could look 'normal' and sing even better.. Some are mentioning lots of things about Neil Patrick Harris and his underwear scene--the moment came at an awkward moment though after a star mentioned the importance of speaking about suicide. The next scene's humor seemed to occur at the worst time. But it also overshadowed anything said prior..
Taking into consideration the fact that last night didn't see the worst ratings of the century, it may be proper to pose the question: If the awards ceremony were just more interesting, would more people watch? Is Hollywood too busy celebrating itself?
I often thought of the Oscars like this: It's fun to watch rich people applaud themselves for a bit of time.. but it's sure entertaining to watch a comedian mock it all. I even thought David Letterman's OSCAR bomb hosting job was pretty a fun event, though most others didn't..
In a way, watching the Oscars is like watching someone else's prom. You don't really know of the prom king and queen, and by the time they announce them you've either turned in for better or switched to another network to watch the late local news..
A review by Brian Lowry in VARIETY today was blunt:
A cheesy variety show is perhaps the best way to sum up the program last night..I didn't watch the whole thing, and quite honestly couldn't consume more than 10 minutes without drifting off into my own world.
The world has shifted beyond Hollywood.. Entertainment is found in various other places.. what comes from Tinseltown is often remakes of other ideas or remakes of the same.. People have found creativity in independent circles and not within the traditional models of entertainment..
On the Oscars, though, the beat goes on. The applause sign is still lit. And the campaign corks are popped as the show never ends.
Will the OSCARS ever not matter?
Some may ask: Did they ever?
Last night, the atmosphere was a little dour.. Rain was drenching the typically vibrant red carpet.. Joan Rivers, who passed away in late 2014, wasn't there to entertain the crowd by laughing at the nature of those Hollyweird crowd. Incidentially, perhaps some revenge from the Oscars took place as Rivers was left out of the tradiational rememberance that the Academy puts on each year.. that may be conjecture. But logical if you think it through..
Some news accounts prior to the event asked the question: Do the Oscars still matter?
The safe answer after seeing the ratings from the big show clearly tell their own story: Even if the Oscars still matter, less and less of us care each year.
The vicious ratings are being reported on various sources.. Dominic Patten in DEADLINE writes this,
The ratings are coming in almost as fast as the awards were handed out during last night’s Oscars and preliminary fast nationals have the Neil Patrick Harris hosted show getting a 10.3/27 among adults 18-49. That’s a drop of 14% from the 12.1/29 that the Ellen DeGeneres fronted Oscars pulled in last year for ABC on March 2. Viewershipwise, the 87th Academy Awards were watched by 34.6 million between 8:30 and 11 PM in the early results. That’s down almost 14% from the 40.2 million who watched the show over the same time period last year.
Other years were worse though.. like 2008 and 2003. But the phasing out of TV and cinema itself may be apart of this story.. Less people are watching TV. Presumably, as technology morphs, less people will find the movie theater experience important as well..
Most people talking around water coolers today don't know much about the movie that won best picture, BIRDMAN. However they are most likely expressing their surprise that Lady Gaga could look 'normal' and sing even better.. Some are mentioning lots of things about Neil Patrick Harris and his underwear scene--the moment came at an awkward moment though after a star mentioned the importance of speaking about suicide. The next scene's humor seemed to occur at the worst time. But it also overshadowed anything said prior..
Taking into consideration the fact that last night didn't see the worst ratings of the century, it may be proper to pose the question: If the awards ceremony were just more interesting, would more people watch? Is Hollywood too busy celebrating itself?
I often thought of the Oscars like this: It's fun to watch rich people applaud themselves for a bit of time.. but it's sure entertaining to watch a comedian mock it all. I even thought David Letterman's OSCAR bomb hosting job was pretty a fun event, though most others didn't..
In a way, watching the Oscars is like watching someone else's prom. You don't really know of the prom king and queen, and by the time they announce them you've either turned in for better or switched to another network to watch the late local news..
A review by Brian Lowry in VARIETY today was blunt:
While it’s no surprise that the buoyancy of Neil Patrick Harris’ Oscar opening couldn’t last, seldom has an Academy Awards presentation broken down so transparently over one significant shortcoming – namely, the writing. While a number of factors, including a preponderance of little-seen nominees and the predictable nature of the winners outside the best-movie category, were beyond the producers’ control, too much clunky scripted material flummoxed even Harris’ impish, good-natured charms. The Oscars are an unwieldy construct, but fleeting YouTube-worthy moments couldn’t overcome a telecast that played more than usual like a cheesy variety show interrupted by a celebration of movies.
A cheesy variety show is perhaps the best way to sum up the program last night..I didn't watch the whole thing, and quite honestly couldn't consume more than 10 minutes without drifting off into my own world.
The world has shifted beyond Hollywood.. Entertainment is found in various other places.. what comes from Tinseltown is often remakes of other ideas or remakes of the same.. People have found creativity in independent circles and not within the traditional models of entertainment..
On the Oscars, though, the beat goes on. The applause sign is still lit. And the campaign corks are popped as the show never ends.
Will the OSCARS ever not matter?
Some may ask: Did they ever?
HOLLYWOOD HAS NO CLOTHES: THE VIEWERS HAVE SPOKEN
![HOLLYWOOD HAS NO CLOTHES: THE VIEWERS HAVE SPOKEN]()
Reviewed by Bryan
on
5:50:00 AM
Rating:
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