The president of the Film Academy says that Oscar was misunderstood

Lindsey Bahr, movie writer

updated

22h21 PDT, Thursday 6 September 2018

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The idea of ​​distributing a popular film at the Oscars has been dropped for the moment, but Film Academy President John Bailey said the new category was well-meaning. his critics.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday that it will further study the plans in this category, citing the fact that the introduction of a new award at three quarters of the year would create challenges for movies already out.

Last month, the academy announced the new category of "outstanding achievements in popular cinema" without parameters, prompting immediate questions about the criteria and their critical impact on films such as "Black Panther". competitor.

Bailey told The Associated Press that he was surprised by the negative reaction to the new category and believes that people have not understood his goal of recognizing the types of films made today. hui.

"The idea of ​​this price was not to try to make sure that certain types of large mass market images are recognized.In my opinion, it is more the kind of difficult to capture, "said Bailey. He worked on "The Big Chill" and "Ordinary People" as the kind of "middle images" that big studios do not do as much and, when they do, they are not often recognized by the price the most prestigious of the film industry. .

"What the board was hoping for was that, in addition to giving some of the bigger budget movies the opportunity, it was also and especially for those kinds of photos that are so hard to do – images like" A Quiet "Place" or "Asians Rich Crazy," Bailey said. "These are wonderful pictures that deserve to be honored."

He does not know yet when he will present himself as a possible addition to the Oscars, but that could be as early as next year.

Although the criteria for the new category are still not defined, Mr. Bailey said that the size of the output and the box office are part of the equation The same is true for an animated film.

The audience at the Oscars is often linked to the musculature of the big names. The scores for the 90th Academy Awards dropped to a record 26.5 million viewers, down 19% from the previous year and for the first time less than 30 million viewers since 2008. 1998, when the blockbuster "Titanic" was named best picture.

In the last three years, Oscar's best picture has gone to the "smaller" movies – "The Shape of Water", "Moonlight" and "Spotlight" – none of which has won more than $ 100 million at box office of 3000 theaters.

The 91st annual Oscars, to be held on February 24 in Los Angeles, will undergo some changes this year, with the academy planning to shorten the ceremony to three hours. To do this, he plans to distribute Oscars in six to eight categories during commercial breaks. The academy also plans to shorten the awards season by spending a few weeks of the 2020 Oscars until February 9, 2020.

For Bailey, the Oscars are not a static entity subject to a certain way of doing things. He notes that the Oscars have undergone many changes over the years, including the addition and subtraction of segments and categories.

The Oscar statuette, he said, "is a symbol of excellence in an ever-changing industry. And we are trying to cope with these changes and honor those changes. "

He can not help laughing at some of the apparent hypocrisy in and out of the academy.

"Some of the people who so loudly criticize this award as an evasion and popularization of the Oscars are the same people that five years ago, seven years ago, said," Why do not you name and honor yourself? no movies? "Which are intended for a larger audience?" says Bailey. "Everyone loves to jump into the academy."

Yet he found a glimmer of hope in the tumult.

"For an institution that people continue to say is irrelevant and is disconnected from everything related to the industry, and there are people who say that, they seem very eager to get into the battle, express their opinions and create discussion, "said Bailey." If we are irrelevant, why is everyone so concerned about this? "

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