Have the Oscars committed suicide?

[rogue06]

Once again there is talk this time of year about how the Oscars (and award shows in general) are boring, lumbering relics of a by-gone age who's time has come but just won't fall down yet -- but should. It appears that the Academy agrees and has approved a measure that will almost certainly drive a steak through it.

Source: Are the Oscars Over?

Sinking ratings, shrinking movie stars, boring broadcasts, not to mention battles over its controversial new museum. And now a quota system that threatens to tear the Oscars apart. How the Academy Awards are struggling to get on with the show

Have you heard about Aperture 2025?

It may sound like a Roland Emmerich sci-fi movie, but it’s actually more frightening. And much more controversial. It’s the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’s latest initiative to make Hollywood more equitable and diverse—more woke—by changing the rules by which films are eligible for Best Picture nominations. Here’s how it works: Starting in 2024, producers will be required to submit a summation of the race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status of members of their movie’s cast and crew. If a particular movie does not have enough people of color or disabled people or gays or lesbians working on the set—and what is “enough” will be determined by a knotty tangle of byzantine formularies -- then that movie will no longer be eligible for an Oscar.

Not surprisingly, the plan is not being universally applauded in Hollywood. Critics say it’s invasive, anticreative, opens the door to privacy issues, and is spectacularly unfair to actors and crew members, who may want to keep their sexual orientation or health profiles to themselves, not to mention to producers and directors who have enough to worry about while shooting a movie than to be saddled with the thankless task of tallying up the identity markers of their creative partners.

“I mean, why aren’t animals in this?” sneers one industry insider. “What if the main character is a horse?”

[...]


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As for the question in the last sentence... I guess Mr. Ed will have to be a black trans horse

[Sparko]

I thought the Oscars were about performance and art? Like which movies were the best? Which actors were the best (at acting)?

Now they are just turning it in to a competition of which movies and actors are the most compliant with their demands and rules. The worst movie of the year could win if it was the one who met more of their conditions than a better movie did.

But you know what? I really don't care. I never watched the oscars or any self-congratulatory back patting awards ceremonies by overly paid stuck-up celebrities. And I have found that even before this, the types of movies that won were usually the artsy-fartsy type movies that I wouldn't watch anyway.

[rogue06]

I thought the Oscars were about performance and art? Like which movies were the best? Which actors were the best (at acting)?

Now they are just turning it in to a competition of which movies and actors are the most compliant with their demands and rules. The worst movie of the year could win if it was the one who met more of their conditions than a better movie did.

But you know what? I really don't care. I never watched the oscars or any self-congratulatory back patting awards ceremonies by overly paid stuck-up celebrities. And I have found that even before this, the types of movies that won were usually the artsy-fartsy type movies that I wouldn't watch anyway.

The Oscars have always been looked at as a guide for whether or not a movie is any good -- although not necessarily popular. Now it will read like a list of movies to "Nope" to.

[KingsGambit]

Once again there is talk this time of year about how the Oscars (and award shows in general) are boring, lumbering relics of a by-gone age who's time has come but just won't fall down yet -- but should. It appears that the Academy agrees and has approved a measure that will almost certainly drive a steak through it.

I assumed most of them were vegetarians.

[rogue06]

I assumed most of them were vegetarians.

If you used a T-bone

[Sparko]

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[DesertBerean]

I've thought the shows a real bore. I did watch perhaps a couple....once for Schindler's List (and I don't regret hearing the Holocaust survivor read off his number) and on other occasion saw the little girl accept for her part in The Piano. That should tell you how often I paid attention. They're boring.

[Ronson]

I didn't watch the program, but my wife showed me the Will Smith portion. I wasn't impressed. He sucker-punched Chris Rock and then hurriedly returned to the safety of his seat where he launched into his profanity-laced tirade.

I have no opinion of Rock as I've never paid any attention to him. I understand there is a bit of backstory as well (Rock needled his wife before). But still - no excuse. If Will and his wife are that sensitive to jokes and criticism then they'd better get out of the business, instead of acting like prima donnas.

[rogue06]

I didn't watch the program, but my wife showed me the Will Smith portion. I wasn't impressed. He sucker-punched Chris Rock and then hurriedly returned to the safety of his seat where he launched into his profanity-laced tirade.

I have no opinion of Rock as I've never paid any attention to him. I understand there is a bit of backstory as well (Rock needled his wife before). But still - no excuse. If Will and his wife are that sensitive to jokes and criticism then they'd better get out of the business, instead of acting like prima donnas.

FWIU, Smith and Rock have been friends for years so the joke about her condition (her hairstyle isn't exactly a choice) was a figurative "slap in the face."

[Esther]

Ghastly creatures all.

[KingsGambit]

Who freaking cares?

[rogue06]

Who freaking cares?

But that's just it. They managed to remain relevant for another year. I'm not saying it was staged, but the Oscars could not have asked for better publicity.

[KingsGambit]

But that's just it. They managed to remain relevant for another year. I'm not saying it was staged, but the Oscars could not have asked for better publicity.

I know, I'm being aspirational.

This was the big topic at work today, and it would take a miracle to change the topic from UNC vs. Duke in the Final Four.

[NorrinRadd]

Well, at least the MSM finally covered some Black-on-Black violence.

A few other thoughts:

-- Tyrus pointed out that if you watch the whole clip, Smith's first reaction was a hearty, wide-mouth guffaw... until he looked over and saw that his wife was NOT amused. THEN his expression changed and the whole manly-man-defending-wife's-honor display occurred. Tyrus -- who has the informative background of three children and two step-children by at least two different women -- opined that the Smith scenario has all the hallmarks of a struggling relationship, noting that they have in the past confirmed that they have an "open" marriage.

-- I'd initially thought Smith could credibly mount a "fighting words" defense (even though as pretty much a free speech purist, I don't believe such a defense should even exist). But having seen his initial laughing reaction, I think that defense is dead anyway.

-- Leaving that initial laughing reaction aside, I'm somewhat surprised by the nearly universal condemnation of Smith by my fellow conservatives. His cowboy-esque defense of his wife seems to fit the conservative stereotype.

-- Gutfeld had a hard time getting Judge Jeanine to grasp the nuance that one could understand the emotional impulse to act as Smith did without condoning the actual carrying it out.

[rogue06]

Well, at least the MSM finally covered some Black-on-Black violence.

A few other thoughts:

-- Tyrus pointed out that if you watch the whole clip, Smith's first reaction was a hearty, wide-mouth guffaw... until he looked over and saw that his wife was NOT amused. THEN his expression changed and the whole manly-man-defending-wife's-honor display occurred. Tyrus -- who has the informative background of three children and two step-children by at least two different women -- opined that the Smith scenario has all the hallmarks of a struggling relationship, noting that they have in the past confirmed that they have an "open" marriage.

His initial reaction compared to hers was what I first noticed as well. When he saw the hurt in her eyes everything changed.

-- I'd initially thought Smith could credibly mount a "fighting words" defense (even though as pretty much a free speech purist, I don't believe such a defense should even exist). But having seen his initial laughing reaction, I think that defense is dead anyway.

I'd be surprised if he ever has to mount any sort of legal defense -- criminal or civil. Neither the L.A. police or Rock seem interested in pursuing it.

-- Leaving that initial laughing reaction aside, I'm somewhat surprised by the nearly universal condemnation of Smith by my fellow conservatives. His cowboy-esque defense of his wife seems to fit the conservative stereotype.

-- Gutfeld had a hard time getting Judge Jeanine to grasp the nuance that one could understand the emotional impulse to act as Smith did without condoning the actual carrying it out.

I'm with Gutfeld on this. Understandable does not equal excusable.

One thing to consider is that Smith is not a small man and trained extensively for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali. If he had balled his hand into a fist and punched Rock rather than delivered a slap, I think the headlines and police reaction would have been very different.