Please, Oscar to stop!
This year's Oscars will be the first since 2018 to have a host; or, in this case, a powerhouse trio of comediennes: Regina Hall; Amy Schumer; and Wanda Sykes. Three women, two of whom are black, and one of whom triples-down by playing the LGBTQIABC+FLAPDivErSitY AnD InCLuSiOn
™ requirements. But, fuck me, anyone who can stomach Schumer for any length of time richly deserves their trinket. (thumbdown)
With luck, Amy Schumer won't be using her own material, a practice in which she's already well versed. Commenting on being chosen to co-host the ceremony, she quipped: I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea
. She's not alone. (nosmile)
I don't feel sorry for the also-rans. They're playing the game, and they know what they're letting themselves in for. They could always do what most other people will do: find some better way of spending their time.
The popularity of the Oscars has dropped dramatically since 2014. In an effort to reverse the trend, a new category has been introduced, so as to make the ceremony more relevant to the great unwashed.
Next month's ceremony will also include a new "fan favourite" prize for the year's most popular film, as voted for by the public via Twitter and the web.
Which, when compared to this year's Razzies' special award category, Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie, is laughably uninspired.
The move, announced on Monday, comes as organisers try to lure viewers back to the awards show. Producer Will Packer has been tasked with breathing fresh life into the annual event, that has seen audiences dwindle in recent years.
He's going to have his work cut out for him. Although the decline in viewership is likely multi-faceted, and last year's probably largely affected by the pandemic, personally I think that there's a push-pull effect of two major contributing factors: Hollywoke grandstanding, and competing entertainment streams.* The latter's not going away in the next few weeks, and good luck to him curbing the former. In fact, the choice of co-hosts doesn't offer any hope that the projecting will be toned down at all, let alone eliminated.
People based in the US will be able to vote from now until 3 March via the official website for an #OscarsFanFavorite, as well as for an #OscarsCheerMoment - another new award for "the most cheer-worthy movie ever". Those outside the US will be able to tweet their choices.
#OscarsCheerMoment? [insert cringe emoji here]
I'm not sure why an international vote is even needed in the first place. Is the ceremony broadcast outside the US? Irrespective, it's restricted to the mouth-breathers on Twitter…and anyone using a VPN. So that's representative, isn't it? (no)
* I also don't think that an arbitrary, and exclusive, quota system helps the integrity of the awards. But I'll assume that most potential viewers are either oblivious or at least not antipathetic towards it.
