If you tune in for this year’s Academy Awards telecast, listen for the phrase in ceremonies held earlier. Simple words rich with meaning. For starters, this is a warning. It says, “The following awards categories were deemed too much of a ratings-kill for inclusion on prime time TV.” Best Left-Handed Director of a Foreign-Language Stop-Motion Documentary Short? Great time to grab a snack or put the dog out.
Furthermore, “in ceremonies held earlier” is the motion picture industry’s way of reminding us that three hours isn’t nearly enough time for Hollywood to adequately congratulate itself. Indeed, the Oscars are the black-tie equivalent of a progressive dinner. Sunday night is dessert. Which got me thinking, With all of those categories, why not a few more? And which ones would I like to see? This is what I came up with:
3-D Movie Actually Worth the Surcharge: In an attempt to lure people away from their HDTVs and into the theater, 3-D seems to be the wave of the future. But more often than not, today’s 3-D movies deliver just enough added dimension to give my 8-year-old motion sickness. The Avatars of the world are few and far between. In fact, films shot in traditional 2-D (Clash of the Titans and the next two Harry Potter films) are now trying to cash in on the Avatar craze by adding 3-D as an afterthought. So how ‘bout we reward filmmakers who make full use of the technology instead of peddling the 21st century equivalent of colorized black-and-white movies?
Best Picture That People Paid to See: Personally, I think increasing the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten was a mistake. It just adds clutter in the name of bringing in a populist film or two that wouldn’t have made it otherwise (District 9, The Blind Side). Why not create a category to honor those quality movies everyone flocked to see? There’s something to be said for a well-crafted blockbuster that grossed, say, $200 million. If ABC wants to keep Oscar viewers around ‘til midnight, this is the award that would do it, all the while letting Tinseltown nominate five populist films (Star Trek anyone?) instead of two.
Best Picture With a Sociopolitical Agenda: Most years, one of the coveted Best Picture nominations gets wasted on a so-so “message flick” lauded for championing a social agenda or political issue close to Hollywood’s heart. An inconvenient truth? Perhaps, but it’s also a fact. My solution: Just give ‘em their own category. Let true entertainment dominate the major categories and leave those feature-length sociopolitical PSAs to duke it out amongst themselves.
Best Performance by a Voice Actor: Have you ever been so impressed by a vocal performance in an animated film that you thought it deserved special recognition? I sure have. But because it’s not a traditional “role” the Academy doesn’t acknowledge it. With animation maturing as an art form, this would be a great time to give those actors their due. No need to separate awards by gender or create a “supporting” subdivision. Lump examples of the year’s best voice work together and may the best man/woman/comic animal sidekick win.
Yessir, if I ran the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, those are a few categories I’d propose. How about you? What do you think would spice up the Oscar telecast or, for that matter, one of those “ceremonies held earlier”?
Be sure to tune in to this week’s Official Plugged In Podcast for a fun roundtable discussion of this year’s Best Picture nominees, plus Oscar trivia and more. Also, join us right here on Oscar night to participate in our live blog!
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