Oscars add “Best Popular Film” category, effectively become MTV Movie Awards
On Wednesday, the board of governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced there would be changes to the annual Oscar ceremony. With ratings falling year over year, they apparently feel the Academy Awards have lost some relevance. Time to spruce the place up.
Changes include moving up the date of the ceremony from February 24 to February 9 and scaling back the broadcast to a hard three hours; smaller technical awards will be presented during commercial breaks, the results presented in summary form when the show starts up again. And finally, the coup de grâce: “a new category for outstanding achievement in popular film.” Eligibility requirements to follow.
This seems to be the Academy’s solution to its tendency not to award or highlight films that people…y’know, actually see. For example, Moonlight was named Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards, and while it’s a great movie, people probably would have been more interested in the ceremony if popular films like Deadpool or Captain America: Civil War had at least been in the running.
But this is a stupid fix. The rub is that movies like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War are good enough to be nominated for Best Picture and rake in billions of dollars. They can do both. Relegating them to their own category and giving one the equivalent of the MTV’s Golden Popcorn Award is belittling and tone-deaf.
The internet didn’t seem to like the news, either:
The Academy generates less than $100m in revenue per year. Walt Disney Co. pays $75m a year to keep the Oscars on ABC through 2020. But I'm sure that wasn't a factor in today's announcement.
— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) August 8, 2018
There’s already an award for “Best Popular Film”. It’s called “money.” https://t.co/hMJfRVgl9y
— David A. Goodman (@DavidAGoodman) August 8, 2018
It truly is something that in the year Black Panther, a movie made just about entirely by and with black people, grosses $700 million, the Academy's reaction is, "We need to invent something separate...but equal."
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) August 8, 2018
The Simpsons memes: always appropriate:
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) August 8, 2018
The Academy Awards should recant its statement based on this tweet alone:
Nailed it:
Nailed it again:
...."Popular Film" Category, aka, a category to make sure Black Panther can win without actually being given Best Picture. https://t.co/2jWnf61ybl
— Ani Bundel (@anibundel) August 8, 2018
This is the first thing that came to mind when I heard the news:
Can’t wait pic.twitter.com/h1lyDMwliZ
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) August 8, 2018
The Academy has roughly six months to change its mind, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
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