This year the Oscars won't be taking place until the end of February. Over the years they have been pushed further and further back in the calender. But what that's doing is making the Academy Awards useless and out of touch.
Think about it, most of the Oscar contenders release their movies in December and nationwide late December - early January. That's when people go see these films. Wouldn't an audience like to know the nominees on January 1st so they can go out and see these films?
Instead the public is exposed to the obnoxious Golden Globe Awards in the middle of January, which at times gets things right but more often than not is a laughing stock. It's not until after that when we get the nominees of the Oscars and are forced to wait a month before the award is given out. This usually results in a month of political warfare from the studios pushing voters to vote for certain films. It's a nasty process that isn't designed to honor these truly remarkable films.
Also, between the Golden Globes and Oscars we have a half dozen awards shows in the U.S. alone, where we see the same nominees win time after time by their respective unions. By the time the winner takes the stage at the Oscars we're bored to tears and in recent years it's obvious the winners are struggling to find words not because they're speechless, but because they've done this speech 10 times before. Part of the reason people watch the Oscars is to see the rawness and unplanned moments that happen when these actors take the stage. Have we gotten moments like this in recent years? People can say the biggest upset in recent years has been Slumdog Millionaire taking over the Oscars despite it's non-traditional content and independent spirit. But by the middle of January I was so tired of hearing the hype behind this film. Everyone I knew saw them winning Best Picture a mile away. Even HUGE upsets like that are tainted because the Oscars are such a long wait after January 1st.
By the end of February the heavy movie-goers are usually past thinking about the nominated movies. We're ready for the spring lineup, different festivals, and gearing up for the summer flicks that are a couple of months away. Did we really care all that much when The Hurt Locker upset Avatar? Maybe. But considering the movie came out almost a year before it was announced best picture, it seemed like old news.
I've grown up as a huge fan of the Academy Awards. Every year I schedule the screening in my calendar and watch every minute of the 4 hour show + red carpet crap. I'm an invested viewer that simply wants the award show experience to be its best.
I suggest that the Academy Awards move their air date to the middle of January. The nominees will be announced January 1st. This way the public has motivation to go see these films that just came out and also give them a chance to see these films after the awards are presented. Wouldn't you love a chance to see the Best Picture winner in the theatre? That could never happen when you usually don't find out until the end of February.
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