Improving the Oscar ceremony

This year’s Academy Awards will be hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, a somewhat odd pair to follow up last year’s comedy dream team, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. In what could be an effort to increase viewers, the Academy appears to have swapped seasoned comedy veterans for younger, less funny, prettier hosts.
It’s an interesting move, and it could bring in more viewers in the ever important 18-30 age group, but at what cost?

Admittedly, Franco and Hathaway were not the Academy’s first choice. Hugh Jackman, who was the host of the ceremony to rave reviews in 2009, turned down an offer to be the host of the 2011 ceremony due to conflicts with the next installment of the popular X-Men franchise.

The Academy has been trying to bolster ratings in other ways. Last year, they increased the number of nominees for Best Picture from five to 10, which incensed many critics and pleased others.

However, what the Academy really needs to do to keep viewers watching in greater numbers is to condense the ceremony. It’s just too long; and those viewers who aren’t movie buffs tend to waver and change the channel during the middle section of the telecast, in which the technical and artistic (read: less interesting) awards are presented. The ceremony is slated to run from 8 to 11:30 p.m., not including the hour of red carpet coverage preceding it. That’s enough time to watch two of the Best Picture nominees, and given that many of the awards are considerably less interesting, not something many viewers are likely to do in one sitting.

Shortening the ceremony might be difficult to do without stepping on some toes. Whatever categories have their time reduced will inevitably feel slighted and understandably so. They deserve recognition from the Academy and in front of all their peers, but they won’t really be recognized by most of the telecast’s viewers. Who really knows the difference between sound editing and sound mixing?

The Academy moved Lifetime Achievement awards and other honorary Oscars to a ceremony separate from the rest of the Oscars. If it wants to really boost its ratings and keep viewers through the entire telecast, it should consider doing the same with the more obscure awards. Having the entire production team for a film crowd up on the stage is a grand moment for them and enjoyable for those in the know, but it just takes too much time.