Oscar 2009: The Academy Gets More Artsy
Michael Cieply in the New York Times:
"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, once the chummiest club in show business, is becoming more artsy and indie-minded just as much of the Hollywood establishment hoped to make it more commercial."
…
"Actors, who traditionally dominated the rolls, have lost ground, as their branch became especially fussy about admissions. At the same time executive members have picked up strength, as have foreigners — roughly a quarter of the 115 new members invited in 2007, for instance, worked on films like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Queen — and those from the independent film world.
"The financial stakes are considerable. The last Oscar telecast, in February, was the least watched on record with about 32 million domestic viewers. But the academy’s awards-related revenue was up, to $73.7 million, from $70.2 million a year earlier, thanks in large part to an escalating license fee from the ABC network, which has committed to broadcast the show in the United States through 2014. To help reverse the ratings slide, producers of the 2009 show have said they expect to highlight crowd pleasers like The Dark Knight or Wall-E, whether these films receive nominations or not."
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It should be noted that the Academy has been giving big nods to small films for at least a couple of decades — though the trend actually began as early as the mid-1970s (see acting nods in 1975 for Carol Kane in Hester Street, Maximilian Schell for The Man in the Glass Booth, James Whitmore for Give ‘em Hell, Harry!, Glenda Jackson for Hedda, and Isabelle Adjani for The Story of Adele H. [above]).
The Oscar’s shift away from studio fare has taken place chiefly because big studios have all but stopped making movies for "Academy consideration." Additionally, the wide availability of screeners/DVDs makes small-budget productions more accessible and so does cable television.
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Tags: 2009 Oscar, Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Film Awards, Isabelle Adjani, The Story of Adele H.
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