Don’t blame Conan.
Ratings for last night’s Oscars were down by about 7% from last year.
It’s not a surprise since fewer people saw the nominated movies, and there were few big stars on the show. There was no “Barbenheimer.” The Academy ignored “Gladiator II.” Otherwise, all the films were indie, or streaming. Big mistake.
The stars that did come — Mick Jagger, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan — were not advertised.
This year 18 million people across ABC and Hulu watched the show. Last year it 19.5 million.
With Harrison Ford becoming ill, Goldie Hawn was the only “old time” real Hollywood name. Morgan Freeman eulogizing Gene Hackman was unexpected.
I wish they’d bring in more past winners, like Michael Douglas, Denzel Washington (he was probably pissed not to be nominated), Mel Brooks and Dick van Dyke, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sally Field, Dustin Hoffman. The Oscars should be using these people before they can’t anymore!
The show was almost four hours long and mostly very entertaining. But the two musical numbers– Queen Latifah singing “Ease on Down the Road” and the James Bond segment — were unnecessary. Producers should have showcased the nominated songs.
My biggest other quibble was In Memoriam, which they can’t seem to get right. Missing: Tony Roberts. That was a huge omission. Michelle Trachtenberg, who died this week. James Darren, from the Beach Blanket movies. Others have expressed disappointment over a few other names. French actor Alain Delon. Sacre bleu!
I’ll say it again: I volunteer, no fee, to make the list. Please.
