No Buzz For Oscar

The Academy Awards are traditionally one of the biggest events of year and officially they will be again this year. The TV ratings will be good, and so will the cost per commercial. But many fans this year I feeling left out and in the cold.

There's usually a lot of anticipation leading up to the Oscars. Fun quips like "1 hour of top notch entertainment, spread out over a 4 hour show." Plus the wonderment if your favorite flick if going to win anything this year. But there just doesn't seem to be the "buzz" this year. Hollywood had a great year at the box office, tough not to at 9-13 bones per ticket. Plus there were some really great movies made. But this year Oscar is getting thrown around by many circumstances beyond his control.

Maybe more than any year ever, the Oscar nominations were dominated by movies that many in the movie going public did not see or really embrace. This is nothing new, but it's really glaring this year. Dynasty's are good for sports and entertainment, but this year there is no Titanic. Fans are having a tough time latching on to a favorite flick.

Juno, There Will Be Blood, Micheal Clayton, No Country For Old Men, and Atonement, are some of the most nominated movies and are all really good. But for the most part their message is heavy, and dark. Some would say reflective of the times and they may be right, but it's not really conducive to creating "buzz."

Oscar is also under siege from it own. There are so many other award shows that are flashier that lead up to the Academy Awards. Over time we may be tired of watching Hollywood pat itself on the back time and time again in the months leading up to it's really big show. Oscar has a lightweight host too this year. John Stewart is a real fan favorite for some, but by and large he misses with the majority of Americans. His show at 11pm on Comedy Central is a long way from mainstream TV. No buzz before the broadcast.

We must face this too. The Writers strike didn't help. It doesn't sit well with most regular people to see what is perceived by most as privileged people walking the picket lines screaming that they are not rich enough. Fans really didn't like it with Major League Baseball, or Hockey and they didn't care for it much here either. From a public relations standpoint too, it didn't help that the trillionaire actors were out in support of them every day on national TV. But it's over and we can all movie on.

Be mindful when you watch the Oscars or read about them online the next day, they are voted on by the Academy and not by one fan anywhere. Same can be said by many other award shows too. It's what THEY choose to honor and not us and that's fine. It's their show, and they should be able to do what they want.

So the time has come and I'll go out on a limb and do my share to create some buzz.....and the Oscar goes to - Best Actor- Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood) Best Actress - Ellen Page (Juno) Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardiem (No Country For Old Men) Best Supporting Actress - Ruby Dee (American Gangster.) Best Picture - No Country For Old Men. Dark horse - The movie Micheal Clayton and it's nominees.

Pass the popcorn, the show is about to begin!