The Oscars have had a fairly tumultuous year, so it’s time to take a look at the biggest mistakes they’ve made so far. Usually, the biggest controversies surrounding the Academy Awards involve the infamous snubs, and 2019 certainly had its fair share of those. Some moviegoers were flummoxed by the amount of love given to titles like Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book, while First Man and If Beale Street Could Talk were largely ignored. But this year, problems with the Oscars went well beyond the films that were and were not nominated. The Academy had to deal with one PR disaster after another - and all of them were caused by their own doing.
It’s no secret that in recent years, the annual Oscars broadcast has seen its viewership ratings diminish. In an effort to reverse course, ABC and Oscar producers attempted to revamp the presentation to make it more audience-friendly (such as implementing a hard 3-hour time limit) and boost interest. Unfortunately for them, just about every decision they made backfired painfully, leaving the Academy scrambling to pick up the pieces in preparation for the 91st Oscars, which take place on Sunday, February 24. Here, we run down all of the issues that have popped up.
The Best Popular Film Category
Following The Dark Knight’s Best Picture snub in 2008, the Academy expanded the category to include 10 films. This was done to allow more populist fare a spot at the table. But a decade into this experiment, a case can be made it hasn’t yielded the intended results. More often than not, the Academy uses the additional slots to nominate more of “their” type of movie (i.e. smaller, character-driven dramas) and leave acclaimed blockbusters settling for the technical awards. There are some notable exceptions of course, but your typical Best Picture nominee doesn’t light up the box office. This year, the Academy thought they had a brilliant idea to give Hollywood tentpoles their due.
In summer 2018, the Academy announced plans to introduce a Best Popular Film category - without detailing what that exactly meant. Unsurprisingly, it backfired in spectacular fashion, with many seeing it as an insult and a manufactured way to ensure the year’s biggest movie (Black Panther) didn’t go unnoticed at the ceremony. The optics of Best Popular Film were confusing and a little disconcerting; was the Academy admitting their regular Best Picture selections were “unpopular”? Facing intense criticism from various corners of the industry, the Academy ultimately backtracked and tabled Best Popular Film for another time. There’s a chance the category could be implemented for a future year, but seeing that box office hits like Black Panther and A Star is Born are in the running this year, it may not be needed. Best Popular Film is always going to come across as misguided.
Not Showing All The Awards
As any director will say, it takes a village to complete a movie. Films would not be possible without the hard work of crew members, including production designers, costume designers, sound mixers & editors, cinematographers, makeup artists, and visual effects supervisors (just to name a few). Many of these people work behind-the-scenes and rarely get a moment in the spotlight. That’s what makes the Oscars such a cool experience. For one night, the unsung heroes of the year’s best films are recognized for their accomplishments and get time to shine on national television. However, for the 2019 Oscars, things are going to be a little different.
As part of their quest to meet the self-imposed 3-hour time limit, the Academy announced they will not show the presentation of all 24 awards live during the broadcast. Instead, some of the technical Oscars will be handed out during commercial breaks, with an edited package showing the winners airing later in the program. This has not gone over well with cinephiles (the Oscars’ target audience), who enjoy seeing who wins in these categories. Again, the subtext of this change is troubling. It gives the impression that certain awards are more “important” than others simply by how recognizable the nominated names are to casual viewers. Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford were the faces of Blade Runner 2049, but Roger Deakins’ contributions were a key reason why the film was as acclaimed as it was. Imagine the outrage if Deakins (a beloved figure amongst film buffs) finally won his first Oscar and people didn’t get to see his acceptance speech live. Every award (even Best Short) should be seen.
Page 2: Snubbing Famous People & The Host Debacle
Limiting Original Song Performances
Live performances of the Best Original Song nominees have been a fixture at the Oscars for years, but the Academy attempted to “fix” this portion of the show for 2019. Back it January, it was reported only two of this year’s five contenders - A Star is Born’s “Shallow” and Black Panther’s “All the Stars” - would be showcased on the broadcast. This was done in an effort to preserve time, but like so many of the Academy’s other decisions this year, it was not well-received. None other than Lin-Manuel Miranda voiced his displeasure with the turn of events, and he apparently wasn’t the only vocal critic. Once again, the backlash got to the Academy and they backtracked.
Shortly after the initial wave of rumors, the Academy announced all five songs will be performed during the show. This means fans of “I’ll Fight” (from RBG), “The Place Where Lost Things Go” (from Mary Poppins Returns), and “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” (from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) can rest easy. The plan is for the songs themselves to be shortened (90 seconds), which seems like a better solution than omitting ones at random. It would have been easy to accuse the Academy of favoritism if they stuck to their initial plan - and how awkward would it be if “Shallow” or “All the Stars” didn’t win? Everyone can agree the Oscars broadcast can run a bit long, but eliminating segments where celebrities shoot hot dog cannons at unsuspecting movie patrons is the stuff we can do without.
Snubbing Last Year’s Winners for More Famous Faces
Traditionally, the previous year’s four acting winners present the acting Oscars at the ceremony. For instance, when Emma Stone won for her performance in La La Land, she received her Oscar from 2015 Best Actor winner Leonardo DiCaprio. This can be seen as a symbolic gesture; one winner welcomes another to a rather exclusive club, in essence passing the torch. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this practice, but the Academy thought it could use some fine-tuning. Per reports, the Oscars wanted to recruit bigger, splashier names to present these four Oscars, snubbing the foursome of Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Allison Janney (last year’s acting winners) in the process.
Of all the proposed changes to the Oscars in 2019, this was perhaps the most baffling. The Academy seemed to be under the impression that more people are likely to tune in if someone from Avengers: Infinity War reads a list of five nominees and announces who gets the Oscar. And like the notion of “Popular Film,” this deviation from tradition has an element of insult to boot. Oldman, McDormand, Rockwell, and Janney are widely-respected industry veterans and are admired amongst film buffs. To suggest they aren’t “famous” enough to present an award definitely sends the wrong message. Apparently, it took Janney saying she was “heartbroken” by the mere suggestion to incite a change. Today, the Academy backtracked and announced Oldman, McDormand, Rockwell, and Janney will in fact present the acting Oscars this year. It’s a shame this was even a rumor.
The Kevin Hart Hosting Debacle
Back in December 2018, actor and comedian Kevin Hart was hired to host the 2019 Oscars. After the announcement, Hart celebrated by saying it was a dream come true, but the good vibes didn’t last for long. Quickly, Hart found himself under heavy fire for homophobic jokes and comments he made in his past. The controversy led to Hart ultimately stepping down so that he could avoid being a distraction. Academy members were allegedly open to Hart returning if he showed remorse for his prior mistakes, but any chance of that went out the window following Hart’s heavily-criticized interview on Ellen, which portrayed Hart as the victim of an Internet troll smear campaign.
When Hart stepped down, there was plenty of time to find a replacement. However, the Academy is forging ahead host-less, the first time in 30 years this has happened. Their plan is to use a rotating cast of A-listers to introduce the various segments. Producers don’t seem too concerned about the development, since the alterations to the telecast would have limited the role of the host anyway. Still, this isn’t a great look for the Academy, and there are still some things that need to be resolved. Since there won’t be an opening monologue, how is the show going to start? Members of Queen turned down an opportunity to perform a song from Bohemian Rhapsody, so ABC needs to think of something else. Maybe it would have been easier to find a new host.
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The Oscars take place February 24, 2019.
