As someone who feels the awards season often drags on too long, I read with great interest John Horn’s L.A. Times story this morning indicating that the Academy is getting closer to moving its 2012 ceremony a few weeks earlier, to late January or early February. (This season’s telecast is scheduled for Feb. 27.) Clearly the Academy is sick of being viewed as an afterthought to all the other awards shows. And even though the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards would certainly move up their dates as well, anything that keeps the overall season a bit more brisk is a welcome change.
But I’m troubled by Horn’s revelation that the new logistics would require voters to watch some of the Oscar contenders online, since the studios wouldn’t have the time to schedule enough screenings or send out every DVD before the balloting deadline. The thought of Academy members judging the best films of the year on a computer screen just makes me sad. At this point I’d almost rather have the Oscar season remain a few weeks too long than know that many of the award-worthy films weren’t seen like they were meant to be seen: at least in some Academy member’s fabulous home screening room.
Do you think this has anything to do with the fact that the NFL is probably going to move to an 18 game schedule, thus pushing the Super Bowl back into late February? Obviously they couldn’t put the Oscars on during the Super Bowl.
Why not? I’d rather watch the Oscars.
ditto!
The Super Bowl destroys everything ratings-wise.
Actually, they could just keep the Academy Awards around the beginning of March, and avoid the Super Bowl, and therefore I really think that the decision is because of the fact that they are sick of coming after the oversized awards season, and therefore coming at a time when people are less excited for the Academy Awards.
If this means that studios would have to spread the wealth a bit instead of glutting November-January with all the good movies, I’m all for it. Having trouble getting everyone to see the film before balloting? Release it sooner!
I don’t think the late fall/early winter thing even works all that well. Crash was a spring movie. The Hurt Locker came out in the summer. No Country For Old Men was in September, I think, and The Departed was in October. If the film is THAT good, people will remember it.
I agree that the whole awards season has gotten too long and ridiculous. The last couple of years the Oscars *have* been pretty much of an after-thought, because there haven’t been any surprises. The same people/films win the awards almost across the board. However, moving the presentation too early would not give a fair shake to all the films, if the deadline for inclusion remains Dec. 31. Seems like there might be a ripple effect, too, where the big contenders would then be released earlier in the fall rather than closer to the end of the year, just so that people have time to view them. Maybe then the cutoff date for inclusion gets moved back a month. And the whole thing will just keep rolling, where the other shows will then move their presentations to December. Just changing the date doesn’t seem like it will really solve anything. They need to come up with some other solution.
I agree with the there are no surprises, but I think that the Oscars are the “last word” on award season. If any award show should occur after it, there is no more excitement. It would be like “Meh, I already have my Oscar”.
I hope this doesn’t happen (at least the January part). I’m a big fan of the Sundance Film Festival and I’d hate to think that everyone would leave the Closing Night for Sundance to go to the Oscars.
agree with prior posters and also think most everything has gotten to long…Bball and hockey JUST got over and they are already in camp for THIS SEASON…baseball too..baseball should end in October..
Baseball does end in October.
Also, I agree that basketball, hockey, and baseball have surprisingly long seasons.
if the world series goes to 7 games, it ends november 4.
Whatever the reason, I like it. This could put an end to every Oscar contender being released on December 31 (well, that’s what it SEEMS like!) and spread them out a little more over the end of the year.
Took the words right out of my mouth!
Nooooooooo. I can barely see all the nominees by the end of February. If you don’t live in NYC or LA, the movies can take a really long time to get to theaters. I know the season is long — maybe they should all start later, if the deadline is December 31. Then 2 weeks later is the Golden Globes. The only thing I know about the movies at that point is what my guru Dave Karger tells me.
It’s true that the season does tend to drag on a little too long, but I don’t mind it too much. I actually would rather it be in late February as opposed to late January. Why? Because so many of the big Oscar contenders don’t get wide releases in theaters nationwide until late January or even early February, leaving people like me not even having the opportunity to see some of the films until that time. It would kind of suck for me to be watching the Oscars and see movies and performances win awards, and I never even got the chance to see those movies. The best solution would be to push up the date of the Oscars, and to also quit it with the extremely dragged out process of releasing these films into theaters nationwide.
Insanity. Awards season is too SHORT. Having time to see awards contenders in the theater before the awards were given used to be one of the great pleasures of the beginning of the year. There was also a sense that the VOTERS got to see the movies – something that is very obviously less and less true. Don’t like awards season? Ignore the ones you don’t care about. The Oscars is the Oscars, the most prestigious award short of the Nobel Prize. Agreed with Nick B that there are other things to improve the Oscar process, but moving them forward STINKS. Worst idea ever.
To let voters watch films online is a great idea, they would likely see more films that wouldnt get considered other wise.
For God’s sake, for 50 years the show was in late March and now they are jumping all over the place!! Just pick a flipping date and stick with it!(*sigh*)
I am not a movie fanatic..used to be before I had kids–had a HUGE oscar party every year. But now as only a casual watcher of the oscars, I feel like waiting 2 months after the end of the release deadline is ludicrous. Yawn. I’ve already moved on to the next year. I see some of the nominees and think to myself “Wow, did that come out only last year?” Not enough time for a voter to watch the nominees? Don’t vote. And Kager’s comment on it being a shame to have watch the movie on the computer: Tough. It’s 2010. I cried last week at the end of Field of Dreams even while watching it on my iPhone on a plane. These million dollar actors and directors charging me $15 bucks plus the 3D upcharge can pay someone to figure out how to hook up a laptop to their 75 inch plasmas. Took me 10 minutes. This may actually benefit the academy b/c they can track on-line viewing Don’t view, you can’t vote and no more easily ripped copies of Dec 31 releases of “The Year of My Despondency III in 3D” floating out there on Jan 25th.
Loved your whole comment
I think it’s pathetic to cry watching Field of Dreams on an iPhone. I don’t want to watch anything more than a few minutes on an iPhone.
Then don’t….nobody’s asking you too. People have their own opinions too.
Wait, one thing nobody mentioned. The Oscars don’t matter. F*** ‘em. They’re only televised so that America can satiate its celebrity fixation and girls and boys can believe that one day they will be STARS too. And the voting process for Best Movie of the Year? Usually it takes us 10 years to decide what the best movie of any given year was. That is, if you like to rank art in terms of bests. Let’s all do ourselves a favor and get a life.
Wow… Thats some deep seeded resentment for the Oscars… I can only imagine what your pick-up lines are when trying to get laid.
No one claims the Oscars accurately rank art with precision. It’s still nice to celebrate great movies every year, several times of year because movies are awesome. Just saying.
You Rule.
To be fair, most of us that watch the Oscars anyway will watch them whatever year they’re on. I’d say the “lack of surprise” issue here has to do with a campaign that’s too short. Having a 6 week period of campaigning after the end of the year (as was the case pre-2003) gave voters time to make their own opinions as opposed to just voting for the movies the Kargers of the world and critics circles are anointing as award-worthy because it saves time. Why not send it back to late March? Or early March? I too think it’s a shame to vote for, say, Best Cinematography after seeing it on your computer.