I agreed with your write up in general….though i really enjoyed Hugh Jackman’s funny and talented hosting performance (the writing for the hosts was generally pretty ordinary though – what was Ben Stiller doing?) – and that’s not just because he is a fellow countryman.

This was admittedly the first time i had ever seen the live broadcast of the Oscars (and did so in a perfect atmosphere with dressed up friends!) and so maybe that affects my perception, but I also was disappointed by the lack of acting clips – i also used to use them in the same way (when i saw a much delayed telecast…), to judge whether or not to see certain films.

I was especially disappointed not to see clips of the documentaries or foreign language films about which i knew very little. The actors talking to actors thing had some touching moment – Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslett looked genuinely moved, but having this instead of the clips made it all a little too lovefest for the average viewer (which is to say i agree with you on that point.

Here’s to the little gold man, may we remember that he really is an industry award and not a judge of aesthetic quality whatever the Academy says…

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The ratings came out yesterday: Oscars viewership was up 13% from last year’s all-time low . . . making it the third least-watched Oscars in Nielsen history. The Washington Post points out some of the hedging that goes on with these figures:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/23/AR2009022302836.html?hpid=entnews

Interestingly, apparently some viewers loved the past winners talking to present nominees. It just goes to show that, yep, people do have different tastes–which is why it’s hard to come up with a list of nominated films that everyone will agree with. I have little sympathy with the argument that, if the Academy nominated more popular films, viewership would go up. Sure, the Academy’s choices are often strange and politically motivated, but there’s no way they can please everyone. I’m just asking that the ceremony itself show us enough of the nominated films to be able to judge whether or not we want to see them.