The folks behind the Academy Awards are starting to figure out that most Americans don’t want to hear left wing political lectures from movie stars. Ratings for other recent awards shows have been disastrous and they don’t want a repeat of that.
The New York Times reports:
In This #MeToo Moment, Academy Awards Want to Spotlight the Films
“We want to make it as entertaining as possible — reverential and respectful but also fun and emotional,” said Jennifer Todd, one of the lead producers of the Academy Awards, which will be hosted for the second year in a row by Jimmy Kimmel. “The Oscars should be a spectacle. Fun and funny and great performances.”
“It should also be a giant commercial for the movie business, which we all need to keep going,” Ms. Todd said, noting that the show would emphasize the 90th anniversary milestone…
Attempts to keep the Oscars on the sunnier side reflect ratings concern inside ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Most people watch award shows for the glamour. Whenever stars use the platform to support progressive causes and make political statements, large numbers of viewers turn the channel, according to academy insiders, who cite minute-by-minute Nielsen data for past shows…
A Grammys-level drop would be a disaster. The Oscar telecast is a big business, generating roughly 80 percent of the academy’s $136.3 million in annual revenue.
The bad news for them is that it’s probably already too late to save the Oscars. The damage has been done already and people are tuning out Hollywood.
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