Among the many complaints about the annual Oscar show — the length; the gaudy musical numbers; the endless tributes; and dear god, the length — is how the ceremony’s producers tend to have a heavy hand when prompting the exit music during the winners’ speeches. But this year, there’s going to be a change which producers hope will allow winners to ensure they get to thank everybody while also keeping the show humming along.
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During yesterday’s Oscar-nominee luncheon, Deadline chatted with Oscar producer David Hill, who revealed that this year, during acceptance speeches, a ticker tape will run at the bottom of the screen, including everyone the winner wants to thank. The show’s organizers have asked all nominees to submit who they want to thank in advance, so when their name is called, the tape can start rolling.
From a practical point of view, it makes sense, but man, does that ever take the emotion out of the moment. For a show that is already bogged down by a stuffy atmosphere, adding an element that makes it seem like you’re watching a financial news report that has stock prices rifling by doesn’t seem like the most exciting move. Part of the fun is watching the winners personally and sometimes movingly thank those that helped them earn that coveted statue — reading it across the screen doesn’t quite carry the same sentiment.
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So, why did they go down this route? Organizers want to a avoid a situation like last year when Dana Perry, who won Best Documentary Short for "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1," was forced to battle the play-off music during her personal tribute to her son, who had committed suicide. You can watch below, and see how the producers awkwardly tried to course correct with the music when they realized what was happening.
Thoughts? Between this and #OscarsSoWhite, it’s going to be an interesting show in February 28th.
Well, let`s see how that works. As much as I like acceptance speeches, I hate this endless barrage of names most winners are throwing out. Maybe with that ticker-tape they take one or two names for some personal words about them, but belting out 20 names doesn´t count as an acceptance speech for me. Hearing all those names without any context is just boring.