The countdown to Oscar Sunday is now measured in days, not weeks. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual awards show airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Ten films are up for the Best Picture statuette. The Academy made the decision to expand the category to 10 nominees last year after much grumbling over “The Dark Knight” failing to garner one of five nominations. The expansion is the Academy’s attempt to appease the general public, many of whom haven’t seen the artsy films long adored by Academy members, with the inclusion of popular box-office hits.
A clever trick ... because what the Academy really wants is ratings, which have declined steadily in recent years.
And they’re likely to get them.
“Avatar” sweeps into the Oscars as the Best Picture favorite, carrying its behemoth $2.5 billion in worldwide box-office earnings and massive fan following with it. But “Avatar” is not the complete package. Push the admittedly stunning visual effects aside and are we really ready to award it an Oscar? Not likely.
But this year is about ratings.
Other films to benefit from the expansion of the category: “The Blind Side,” “District 9” and “Up.” All good films. All popular with the public. But something’s missing ...
“The Blind Side” is delightfully uplifting, and Sandra Bullock deserves the Best Actress statuette she will undoubtedly receive. But could it really compete with “Rain Man”?
“District 9” was poignant and an interesting study of apartheid, but the opening act was mind-numbingly slow. Could it really shine alongside “Schindler’s List”?
And “Up” moved audiences to tears in its first 10 minutes, but it’s not even the best of the Pixar movies. Does it hold a candle to “Platoon?”
None of these pictures come close to Oscar gold when compared to winners past.
But this year is about ratings.
And the Academy will likely achieve its goal — more viewers will no doubt tune in to see films they actually saw vie for awards.
But the Academy’s esteemed members missed the point. We weren’t angry that there weren’t enough spots to allow “The Dark Knight” a place among the Best Picture nominees. We were incensed that “The Dark Knight,” which rose above its genre in so many ways, wasn’t considered worthy of one of those five coveted nominations. It is the frame of mind we hoped would change, not the rules.Now, many would argue an almost-forgone-conclusion win for James Cameron’s “Avatar” would denote such a shift in the Academy’s point of view.
But “Avatar” is not the harbinger of that change. Because it would be awfully hard for the Academy to look a $2.5 billion Na’vi in the face and utter “Thou shall not enter here.”
Especially when the Oscars’ ratings are riding on a Mountain Banshee’s back.
Just think what they could’ve been had they hitched a rope to the Enterprise.
Contact Heather Bremer at 640-4867 or heather.bremer@heraldbulletin.com. And look for a special Oscars checklist you can use to pick your Academy Award winners in Sunday’s Community section.