Banana Scoop

Watching the Oscars this year was an unfortunate waste of time.  Everything was predictable, I was not entertained, and the hosts were lame.  It’s easy to say that to improve the Oscars you should make it unpredictable, entertaining, and pick fantastic hosts.  But it goes deeper than that.  And with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner producing it, the Oscars has a chance to be entertaining again.  Just remembering how forgettable the last Oscars was, I’ve looked into the past and looked at some o the most entertaining moments at the Oscars [see my video compilation here] and determined how the Oscars can be the best ceremony once again.  Hit the jump for the list

A Fantastic Opening Sequence that Sets the Tone of the Night

Absolutely sensational

A lot of the videos I compiled in my favorite Oscar moment were taken from the opening monologues of hosts  such as Ellen, Jon Stewart, and Hugh Jackman.  Jackman has ranked as my top favorite opening monologue.  He was a fantastic host and took the job head on as exhibited by his opening act.  Ellen and Jon Stewart had excellent monologues, combining wit and humor that can chuckle Hollywood’s most stolid actors.  If the host(s) is/are lazy, the producers can come up with an MTV Movie award type spoof [see 2011 Oscars].  Regardless of what the opening is like, it is important to set the mood just right for the 2-3 hour programming ahead.

Musical Performances even though it’s Film’s Night

Quite entertaining

It’s film’s biggest night, so why throw in musical performances?  TO ENTERTAIN.  Every once in a while, they used to perform the nominated best songs, and for the most part, they were very entertaining.  Amy Adams sang, the Jai Ho song was good, and It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp were all great songs when they were performed at the Kodak Theatre.  If the songs are actually good, the Oscars should do this, or they should just grab whatever’s hot that time of the year and just pull them on stage.  Regardless, musical filler is probably more interesting than the best short animated film that nobody saw.

Comedic Intermissions to Keep the Middle Entertaining

An awkward chip of humor in a rather dead night

The Oscars try very hard at adding humor inbetween.  This can range between playful banter in the presenting of the awards or the host trying to jump in at odd times to try to add some humor.  Unfortunately sometimes it doesn’t match the tone of the night.  For example, the Ben Stiller posted above was during the 2010 Academy Awards.  This is a moment that probably would’ve been acceptable at the MTV Movie Awards or maybe even the Golden Globes, but not the Oscars.  UNLESS, the tone of the Oscars were completely shifted to fit such an occasion.  If the entire Oscars were this laid back, then everyone probably would’ve had a better time.

Spread out the Big Five and Don’t Save Everything Till the End

Which film is this that won the Big 5?

By the time of the Oscars come around, the Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, and most of the other major award ceremonies are over and the clear cut winners of all the major awards are usually cookie cut and fairly predictable.  The programs usually try and save The Big Five (Best Adapted/Original Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture) towards the end.  Unfortunately this makes the middle rather boring, and with a predictable outcome in each of these categories, the payoff isn’t as exciting as it should be.  The only reason these are worthwhile is the acceptance speeches, most of which are nothing new and nothing surprising.  As these are the only worthwhile Oscars (in my opinion), spreading them out will keep my interest more.

REMOVE Documentaries, Shorts, and All Off-Screen Awards

Who are you and why did someone take your picture?

A lot of the filler of the Oscars contains the awarding of categories we particularly don’t care about.  Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Short Animated Features, Documentaries.  All of these likes, accepted by people we don’t care about and when they make 5 minute speeches about how important it is that they won, all we can say is, ‘UGH’.  I don’t mean to disrespect these people, I’m sure they’re the master crafts of their…well craft, but instead of all these awards that are going to people America really doesn’t care about, fill in that time with trying to entertain the audience.  One can easily solve this problem with having a separate tech ceremony for the technical aspects of film and a smaller Oscars, one not televised, for documentaries and shorts.

What thoughts do you have on the Oscars and how else would you fix them?