Monday, February 26, 2007

The Oscars Are Too Long!

No kidding, eh?

Seriously, three hours and forty-five minutes is way too long for an awards show. I felt it was dragging on by the end. The program could have easily been shaved down to three hours and possibly, two hours and thirty minutes.

Was it really necessary to have performances for every song nominated for Best Original Song? Did we really have to hear about the lives of screenwriters? Was there a point to "America On Film?"

Here's how I would schedule the Academy Awards:

There would only be presentations for the ten categories that receive the most coverage (Best Motion Picture, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Foreign Feature, Best Animated Feature). Then, include the Lifetime Achievement award, a vignette dedicated to those who passed away, and a performance of the song, that won the award for Best Original Song. Total time - Three hours, give or take a few minutes.

As for the remaining categories, they can be presented during a ceremony which, is aired over the internet or, on a channel that's affiliated with the host broadcaster. For example, the main show airs on ABC, while the other categories are shown on Disney Channel or ABC Family. This way, the casual fans don't have to sit through presentations they don't know about; and the enthusiasts, won't feel cheated.

Anyway, I am glad that Scorsese finally won an Oscar. The Departed is a great film, but not his best. It's certainly in the top five.

By the way, how can an awards show (using lots of electricity) "go green?" Were they using different light bulbs? Were the statuettes made of recycled scarp metal?

I'm just wondering.

The Hek

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was wondering that too.

Personally I like hearing from all the best song nominees, guess it goes back to when I was a kid and they were all from Disney. I remember they presented only the highlights one year and it didn't really work. Otherwise I agree, the Oscars should stick to the highlights.

- Mr. Wood

Anonymous said...

You guys made the mistake of watching it sober. Have a Oscarita (margarita+Oscar) party and it's all good.

Eric Rosenhek said...

There were some parts where I wish I had a stiff drink. That would be nice. I'm sure there were pleanty of Margaritas handed out at all the post oscar parties.

Anonymous said...

I also saw all the films for best picture and two films for Foreign Film. That helped too.

Eric Rosenhek said...

Not bad. I wish I could get out and watch more films.