And The Oscar Goes To......

[huntergrayson]

Most pressing question: if we drink everytime Harvey is thanked, how quickly will we get alcohol poisoning?

[Mugsy]

I understand celebrating and awarding the technical contributors to movie-making, but then there are many more who could be awarded. Best craft services, best camera operator, and so on. What about the key grip? Won't someone please think about the key grip?

Why are the Oscars on a Sunday night? It seems Saturday is more of a party night; I'd host an Oscar party on a Saturday, but on a Sunday? When the show tends to run until midnight? Most people work or go to school on Monday morning; it seems like an odd choice.

I know someone will say ratings, but ratings are in the tank anyway. Why take away a prime night of TV during sweeps when they could leave Sunday night intact and air the Oscars on a Saturday night?

[forever1267]

I don't remember when they changed, but they used to be on Mondays. That was a fun fight every year to fight to stay up until 11 and later on a school night!

But it was worth it. I really love this holiday!!!!

[huntergrayson]

Seriously, I was the kid coming into class bleary-eyed because my family always made an event of it and let us stay up. I totally wanted to dish about the dresses and whatnot too. Why I ever had to formerly come out is a mystery.

[Ginger]

Why are the Oscars on a Sunday night? It seems Saturday is more of a party night; I'd host an Oscar party on a Saturday, but on a Sunday? When the show tends to run until midnight? Most people work or go to school on Monday morning; it seems like an odd choice.

Back in the 90s they still did it on Monday night, which is even worse. But back in those days they didn't do 5 hours of red carpet coverage. And I think the ceremony was shorter then because they used to start later and also aimed to finish at 11 pm, even though they always ran over. And they also got better ratings. I'm just going from memory though, anybody know for sure?

Saturday is not a good night because people don't stay home and watch TV on Saturday night. And not everybody is into it enough to do the full-out Oscar party thing, so they rely on people just being home and turning on the TV.

[Deleted]

Feb 26, 2012 18:16:52 GMT -4 @huntergrayson said:

Seriously, I was the kid coming into class bleary-eyed because my family always made an event of it and let us stay up. I totally wanted to dish about the dresses and whatnot too. Why I ever had to formerly come out is a mystery.

Me too! God bless my family for indulging me even though they could not have cared less. I remember one year it was on during the week and I had play rehearsal that night, and my brother made damn sure I got home in time for it. The Oscars and ER were the only things my mom would let me stay up past my bed time for.

[huntergrayson]

Ginger - Slate made a infographic charting the length of the telecast every year.

[Ginger]

Oh thanks. Here it is[/color].

[Deleted]

Feb 26, 2012 12:40:45 GMT -4 Atreides said:

I'll take this as a slam against me. I LOVE film. I love seeing what people on both sides of the camera can do to express themselves artistically and the immense collaborative effort involved in creating a movie. I buy film scores regularly, have a bunch of books about movies, and have a 500+ strong film library (and none of it illegally downloaded!). I can totally nerd out discussing cinematography and costuming. That being said, tech categories still don't make great TV. As talented as she is, no one is going to be ecstatic to see Sandy Powell win her umpeenth Oscar. The Oscar chat thread on this very message board will not go into overdrive when the FX guys from Rise of the Planet of the Apes win the Visual Effects Oscar tonight, and I love that movie's FX and am supporting it. There is an entirely separate Oscar tech award show where the really obscure awards are given out for people who have created new software and filmmaking technologies. What they do is a great achievement but I wouldn't watch that ceremony. I'll enjoy seeing their results on the big screen.

Okay. I'm not saying that everyone finds those categories scintillating TV. I'm saying that if the Oscar ceremony doesn't broadcast the tech awards, then it's not the Oscars anymore. It's just another iteration of the Globes/Critics Choice/SAGs/etc. I'd rather the show not be televised at all than succumb to the pressure to stop recognizing the majority of the people involved in the filmmaking process.

I guess I just honestly can't understand how anyone can say they love film but they don't think anyone besides the writers, directors and actors deserve recognition for their work.

[petitesuite]

Meh. I guess I don't love film enough, but given that the Oscars are on TV, I think it's fair to expect it to succeed as a tv show (program?). And right now, for me, it doesn't; it's frequently dull and unengaging. I think the ceremony would be immensely more watchable if the dull categories were cut, a younger host and new writers were hired, and, I think, the dull categories were replaced by categories that recognized sci-fi (or comedy, any genre that's usually under-represented at the Oscars). Frankly, given how much the Oscars suck at times, I'm not sure it'd be a huge tragedy if the Oscars aren't 'the Oscars' anymore. Things change!