[Global Times Special Correspondent Luc] The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on the evening of March 27, local time.
Last year's Oscar ratings hit a record low of 10.4 million viewers, putting pressure on the host, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the broadcaster, ABC.
"The biggest challenge now is how to attract people to watch it?" said Will Parker, the producer of this year's Oscars, "This year's Oscars have to be associated with people outside of Hollywood, that is to say, it has to be with fans and fans. Let us establish connections.” The Oscar organizers want to please the audience and increase the ratings, but also maintain the sense of sanctity and prestige of the Academy and the “Golden Man” – how to achieve this balance?
Data map: On the morning of February 10th, Beijing time, the 2020 Oscars ceremony was held in Los Angeles, and the red carpet was shining with stars.
old age entertainment
"In the pre-social media era, there were 100 reasons to watch the Oscars", the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) analyzed the reasons for the popularity of the Oscars in the past on the 21st: After all, this is a rare opportunity for the audience to see many world-class stars, awarding awards There are also many movie highlights at the ceremony.
A few years ago, the daily entertainment of the American people was dominated by a few major TV stations, and there were not so many platforms and channels today.
The BBC said that under the impact of various online videos and short videos, Oscar, as the "biggest entertainment program of the old era", has lost its appeal and influence.
Judging from this year's Oscar lineup, the organizers have several "killers" to catch the audience's attention.
The first is the shortlisted work "Stars Gathered".
Compared with the independent films and newcomers of the previous years, there are many famous directors such as Stephen Spielberg and top stars such as Will Smith and Nicole Kidman among the contenders for various awards this year, especially It is Will Smith who swept the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and other Oscar wind vane awards for his role as the father of the tennis world in "King Richard", and is likely to wear the Oscar "Best Actor" crown this year.
Jessica Chastain, who contributed a "plastic-level" performance in "Tami Fey's Eyes", is the strongest contender for the actress.
In addition to these shortlisted stars, the Oscars will also invite Lady Gaga, Chinese-American actor Simu Liu and Ukrainian-born actress Mila Kunis to serve as presenters, using this diverse "star-studded" to attract audiences of different ethnic groups.
Secondly, this year's Oscars will host again after three years. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes will each host a paragraph of the ceremony.
Although they are not first-line stars, their unique stage style can also bring new highlights to the Oscars.
In addition, the Oscars plan to appeal to a wider audience of music lovers by performing the "Full House" theme song live at the ceremony.
The injustice of reform
There are also some Oscar reforms that have sparked controversy.
For example, the newly established "Fan Favorite Award" allows netizens to vote for their favorite movies, such as the current youth version of "Cinderella", the thriller "Minamata Disease" starring Johnny Depp, and box office blockbusters. "Spider-Man: Homeless" leads the vote.
Some people worry that the voting rule that each person is limited to 20 votes per day can easily make the voting result a canvassing contest by fans, or be manipulated by some organizations.
In addition, the reform measures to change 8 of the 23 Oscar awards, including best editing, sound effects, and animated short films, from live broadcasts to recorded and broadcast editing directly aroused opposition from Hollywood practitioners.
Although the management of the academy argues that this way of compressing the awards is to prioritize TV audiences and keep the awards show alive, industry insiders including Spielberg and Del Toro believe that such a program arrangement is different for Hollywood. The injustice of the practitioners, "Oscar should be treated equally, and everyone should stand on the same line."
"Why should anyone else care about our filmmakers' awards?"
Who will have the last laugh at this year's Oscars?
The American "Variety" is optimistic about the female director Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" and the warm and inspirational film "Hearing Girl" showing the disabled.
According to the US "Deadline" website, the members of the academy who have the right to vote for the Oscar are casting their votes in the final period-the attribution of major awards will be born in the hands of these 9,487 judges, "The Power of the Dog" and "Spencer" "The public relations activities of popular shortlisted works such as "Belfast" have also entered the final sprint stage. The Los Angeles area has relaxed the epidemic isolation restrictions since March... Under this situation, can this year's Oscars recover from the slump in ratings? - Going back to the 23.6 million viewers in 2020, and even heading towards the peak of 43.74 million in 2014?
Some optimists believe that Hollywood studios and major theater chains are recovering, and the Oscars can return to their pre-pandemic levels; but others believe that the Oscars are after all awards in the film industry, and the connection they can establish with the general public is real. limited.
Comedy star Seth Rogen said, "Like I don't care who wins the car award, why should other people care about our filmmakers' awards?" Don't Look Up" star Mark Rylance also publicly stated that he would not participate in this year's Oscars, "to be honest, they are boring."