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Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:45 pm
by Greg
Reading about the changes in the Honorary Oscars reminds me of the Honorary Award given to Charlie Chaplin. That show was before my time; but, I read that it was given at the end of the show after the award for Best Picture was given, as it was to be the highlight of the night. Some people think that it was, if the the best moment, then the most dramatic moment in Oscar history.
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:49 am
by Uri
The Original BJ wrote:If the techs get moved to a different ceremony, I will stop watching the Oscars. Perhaps it's the below-the-line crew member in me speaking, but the Oscars are the one moment each year when the talented folks who break their backs to make the stars look good get their day in the sun, and to take that away from them to increase ratings would be simply cruel.
Yet, everybody on this board seemed to be thrilled with the derogatory approach towards these same categories shown this year, when it was very clear it was all about taking them out of the way as quickly as possible so we could all dwell endlessly in the stardust spread by the categories that really matter.
Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:32 pm
by Damien
For the record, Bill Condon arguedly adamently against the hideous Honorary Oscars change.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:20 pm
by Eric
Let there be no more doubt. The Oscars are first and foremost a marketing tool.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:44 pm
by Heksagon
I don't like the change in the number of best picture nominees, but at least I understand why it was done. These changes, on the other hand, I don't understand at all, because I would imagine that for the audience watching the ceremony on television, song and honorary awards would be amongst the most popular categories. Even on this board those awards usually generate a lot discussion.
For the honorary awards, it is also a huge drop in their prestige.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:30 pm
by Big Magilla
I hope the honorary awards recognition change means they'll now allow more than one of the three to be honored in a given year. It might well end up being televised a la the AFI tributes. Failing that, they might show highlihts at teh annual awards ceremony or at least have the recipients acknowledged in the audience.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:21 pm
by The Original BJ
So the song rule is just a change allowing there to be 0, 1, or 2 nominees instead of three? One really wonders why they're trying to weed out the nominees in that category. Aren't the song performances -- for better and for worse -- at least some form of entertainment during the show, a break-up from the awards?
But the Honorary Award tribute is really crushing. Some of my favorite moments in past Oscarcasts -- Robert Altman, Blake Edwards, Ennio Morriconne, Warren Beatty -- have been these career tributes.
If the techs get moved to a different ceremony, I will stop watching the Oscars. Perhaps it's the below-the-line crew member in me speaking, but the Oscars are the one moment each year when the talented folks who break their backs to make the stars look good get their day in the sun, and to take that away from them to increase ratings would be simply cruel.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:08 pm
by OscarGuy
Wow. They're going to trot out their legends and luminaries at a separate, probably untelevised event. They really are trying to avoid things that slow the show down. It's really unfortunate considering some the best moments of the last several years have been the standing ovations and tributes and even the much ballyhooed hand-sitting for Elia Kazan. We lose a lot of potentially wonderful moments with that change.
And they must really hate the song category. We knew they hated the song score category, but this is starting to weed out some of the old standards.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:06 pm
by Mister Tee
The song thing I barely understand, and don't much care about. But moving the Honorary's out of the main show ends their usefulness as career tributes for such as O'Toole or Altman.
For the first time, I get the sense they're running scared and listening to the long-time carpers. I've never much genuinely feared major changes like the techs being moved pre-show, but now I do.
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:03 pm
by Mister Tee
Oscar rules get a makeover
Academy alters voting process for Original Song
By VARIETY STAFF
Beverly Hills, CA -- The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved the rules for the 82nd Academy Awards at their June meeting last week (6/23).
The most significant change was made in the Music - Original Song category.
In the original song category, the governors approved the Music Branch Executive Committee recommendation that if no song achieves a minimum average score of 8.25 in the nominations voting, there be no nominees and thus no Oscar presented for the category.
If only one song achieves the required minimum, it and the song with the next highest score will be deemed the nominees. If two or more songs achieve the minimum score, they will be the nominees though no more than five nominees can be selected.
Previously, the rules dictated that there be no more than five but no fewer than three nominees in the category.
In addition and as previously announced, the Best Picture category will have ten nominees instead of five and the Testimonial Awards (the Irving G. Thalberg Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award) will be presented at an event in November of this year, separate from the televised Oscar presentation in March 2010.
Other modifications of the rules include normal date changes and minor "housekeeping" changes.
Complete rules for all categories can be viewed online at www.oscars.org/rules.
Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees.
The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy's Board of Governors for approval.
Academy Award® nominations in all categories will be announced on February 2, 2010.
The 82nd Academy Awards presentation will be telecast live by the ABC Television Network on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
Edited By OscarGuy on 1246050587