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The 2022 Oscars bounced back from last year's disaster by getting back to basics

posted 3 years ago by TMC-4 (20493)
2 replies | jump to latest

https://tvline.com/2022/03/27/oscars-2022-review-abc-academy-awards-hosts-poll/

"This year’s ceremony had nowhere to go but up, honestly: Last year’s Oscars were a trainwreck (one that took place at a train station, ironically) plagued by sluggish pacing and a humorless tone," says Dave Nemetz. "....This year, though, with first-time producer Will Packer at the helm, the Oscars was able to return to its home turf at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre and restore some measure of its former glitz and glamour, thanks to falling COVID numbers. And yes, this Oscars ceremony did easily clear that low bar by getting back to what the Oscars does best: showcasing the very best of cinema and playing host to some very memorable moments. (Thank you, Will Smith.)" Nemetz adds: "But aside from a few odd choices, the ceremony thankfully went back to basics for the most part, with actual clips from the nominated performances (what a refreshing change!) and montages celebrating decades of Hollywood history, including a fittingly grand tribute to The Godfather. Plus, the broadcast had a cozy feel, with nominees seated in Golden Globes-style chairs and tables right up front, and the intimate close-ups during the acceptance speeches really captured the emotion in the room."

[–] AzureSeb (510) 3 years ago

It still had the second lowest ratings for an Oscar broadcast, lol.

[–] TMC-4 (20493) 3 years ago

The Oscars telecast stumbled this year because it keeps trying to reinvent itself

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/will-smith-oscars-controversy-recovery-1235217950/

The Academy Awards have had seven different producing teams in the past 10 years. “If you try to reinvent the Oscars every single year, you create this narrative that is constantly a crisis in need of resolving,” says film historian Mark Harris, in an interview with Variety. “One of the reasons the Golden Globes rose so much in the last 20 to 25 years — before they self-immolated — was brand consistency. You knew what a Golden Globes telecast vibe was going to be. Whereas the Oscars have no brand consistency now.” Harris, who didn't attend Sunday's ceremony despite his husband Tony Kushner's nomination for West Side Story, says the Academy should hire a producer with extensive experience in live television events who could handle the telecast over multiple years. On Twitter, Harris pointed out that some of this year's most touching Academy Awards moments -- Elaine May, Samuel L. Jackson, Liv Ullmann and Danny Glover receiving honorary Oscars at the Governors Award -- were apparently "not interesting enough for the show," so they were captured via cell phone footage. Harris says the Academy should take advantage of its nearly century-old history. “I think if the show was a little less concerned with chasing relevance and a little more concerned with chasing importance and history and emotion, it might find those things a better fit for its natural assets," he says. "It’s never going to be the youngest or most populist of movie award shows, but what it can be is the most distinguished, the most prestigious. It is still more meaningful to people in the industry to win an Oscar than it is to win any other kind of award.”