Saving Oscar: Recruiting an A-List Army
Part IV: I call our community to come — even if you're not nominated — to show the world this show is worth caring about
This week’s series is about how to fix the Oscars. I’ve made the case for a larger-than-life show, shaking up the season and awarding more best pictures.
Today I’m also soliciting stories about the wildfires here in Los Angeles at this link here; we are sorry for everyone struggling in the moment and hope to share some of your stories. If nothing else, shoot me a picture of your hotel breakfast buffet next to your dog at Richard@theankler.com.
Today’s installment of Saving Oscar is one that’s easy to say, but admittedly will be harder to pull off. Contrary to any misguided perception, the entire point of Oscar night isn’t about who goes home with the big prize: Few outside of the industry care that much about Christopher Nolan’s vindication or the Daniels’ wild ride.
No, the point is that on one night, they see Hollywood coming together, in one room filled with all the most glamorous stars on Earth, laughing at each other’s jokes, schmoozing and engaging in a friendly competition. The stars of all those different movies — some of which they’ve hopefully even seen, as we discussed yesterday — all together in one big family.
Except that it’s not and it hasn’t been for a long time.
In the past few decades, the extent to which Hollywood’s elite have stopped treating Oscar night as a communal experience and started regarding it as just another f-ing PR obligation is unmistakable and poisonous to the whole thing.
When you go to the Oscars — or just watch — if you take note of who shows up, what stands out in recent times is how you don’t see anyone there who isn’t either a nominee or a presenter. No one comes to the Oscars just to be there, to experience this communal event that’s supposed to be Hollywood’s Biggest Night. And certainly not to support others. How can this be the zenith of the industry’s year if no one without a vested interest bothers to be there?
This isn’t just an Oscar problem either. If no one goes to the Oscars just for the fun of it, they certainly wouldn’t be caught dead in 1,000 miles of the Critics Choice Awards or the WGA dinner if they weren’t required to be there. No one goes to a movie premiere if they aren’t directly involved anymore. And so on and so forth.
Part of the problem — maybe most of the problem — is . . .
