The turn of the 21st century has seen the celebrated awards show take a hit. Changes over the past decade seem to have aversely affected the program, including shifting the broadcast from Monday at 9pm to Sunday at 8:30pm in 1999. During the TV writers strike in 2008, just over 32M viewers watched the Oscars, the least viewed ever.
This year the Academy Awards show fell to an 11.7 adults 18-49 rating, down 12% vs. last year’s 13.3 adults 18-49 rating. The average viewership fell to 37.6M viewers, down 9% below last year.
Last night’s ceremony felt more mechanical than usual. Folks showed up and did what they were supposed to do, but with little passion or fanfare. Despite hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway’s combination of dry humor and goggle-eyed ardor, respectively, the two seemed largely unsuited for hosting duties. Burdened with banal scripted material, the pair managed to inject the show with energy, but little majesty or self-effacing levity.
The two hosts had been recruited to attract a younger viewing audience…you know, the same audience that felt slighted when the ‘In Memoriam’ segment of the awards show failed to honor Corey Haim, the Lost Boys actor who died of pneumonia complications last year at age 38.
Of course, it wasn’t exactly a banner year for mainstream nominations, either, so it’s hard to level blame at either the Academy or ABC. The King’s Speech, which took best picture, director and actor awards, is a great film, but of little interest to the throngs of sub-30 year-old audiences primarily targeted these days. True Grit was good, but overrated. And Black Swan, a personal favorite of yours truly, is powerful, but far too darkly esoteric for mainstream audiences (despite Natalie Portman’s deserved and poignant best actress win).
Are the Academy Awards falling victim to a perfect storm of economic restraints, shifting audience tastes and a changing industry? Let us know what you think below. Meanwhile, the complete list of Oscar nominations and winners follows…
BEST PICTURE:
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
The Fighter (Paramount Pictures), David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures), Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
Toy Story 3 (Disney•Pixar), Darla K. Anderson, Producer
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers
DIRECTING:
Tom Hooper - The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company)
Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
David O. Russell – The Fighter (Paramount Pictures)
David Fincher – The Social Network (Columbia Pictures)
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit (Paramount Pictures)
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company)
Javier Bardem – Biutiful (Roadside Attractions)
Jeff Bridges – True Grit (Paramount Pictures)
Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network (Columbia Pictures)
James Franco – 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Natalie Portman – Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features)
Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole (Lionsgate)
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions)
Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine (The Weinstein Company)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Christian Bale – The Fighter (Paramount Pictures)
John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Renner – The Town (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features)
Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company)
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Melissa Leo – The Fighter (Paramount Pictures)
Amy Adams – The Fighter (Paramount Pictures)
Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company)
Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit (Paramount Pictures)
Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom (Sony Pictures Classics)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
Toy Story 3 (Disney•Pixar), Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler
Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter (Paramount Pictures), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
In a Better World (Sony Pictures Classics), Denmark
Biutiful (Roadside Attractions), Mexico
Dogtooth (Kino International), Greece
Incendies (Sony Pictures Classics), Canada
Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) (Cohen Media Group), Algeria
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
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Toy Story 3 (Disney•Pixar), Lee Unkrich
How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks Animation), Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
The Illusionist (Sony Pictures Classics), Sylvain Chomet
ART DIRECTION:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney Pictures), Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (Warner Bros. Pictures), Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Wally Pfister
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Matthew Libatique
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Danny Cohen
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures), Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Roger Deakins
COSTUME DESIGN:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney Pictures), Colleen Atwood
I Am Love (Magnolia Pictures), Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Jenny Beavan
The Tempest (Touchstone Pictures), Sandy Powell
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Mary Zophres
FILM EDITING:
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures), Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter (Paramount Pictures), Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Tariq Anwar
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Jon Harris
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Inside Job (Sony Pictures Classics), Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Exit Through the Gift Shop (Producers Distribution Agency, Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
Gasland (Rooftop Films), Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
Restrepo (National Geographic Entertainment), Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
Waste Land (Arthouse Films), Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley
MAKEUP:
The Wolfman (Universal Pictures), Rick Baker and Dave Elsey
Barney’s Version (Sony Pictures Classics), Adrien Morot
The Way Back (Newmarket Films), Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
ORIGINAL SCORE:
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks Animation), John Powell
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight Pictures), A.R. Rahman
ORIGINAL SONG:
“We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3 (Disney•Pixar), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Coming Home” from Country Strong (Screen Gems), Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
“I See the Light” from Tangled (Walt Disney Pictures), Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
“If I Rise” from 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight Pictures), Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
SOUND MIXING:
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
Salt (Columbia Pictures), Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
The Social Network (Columbia Pictures), Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
SOUND EDITING:
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Richard King
Toy Story 3 (Disney•Pixar), Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
TRON: Legacy (Walt Disney Pictures), Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
True Grit (Paramount Pictures), Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
Unstoppable (20th Century Fox), Mark P. Stoeckinger
VISUAL EFFECTS:
Inception (Warner Bros. Pictures), Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney Pictures), Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (Warner Bros. Pictures), Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter (Warner Bros. Pictures), Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Iron Man 2 (Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios), Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick
DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
Strangers No More, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Killing in the Name, Jed Rothstein
Poster Girl, Sara Nesson and Mitchell W. Block
Sun Come Up, Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
The Warriors of Qiugang, Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
Day & Night, Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Let’s Pollute, Geefwee Boedoe
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary), Bastien Dubois
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:
God of Love, Luke Matheny
The Confession, Tanel Toom
The Crush, Michael Creagh
Na Wewe, Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143, Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
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