Yesterday was my birthday, so I did not watch the Academy Awards. Instead, I watched Stand and Deliver (1988) and Twenty Bucks (1993), as it is the only way I can spend my birthday with my dearest Vanessa now. I did watch this year's on-air In Memoriam online today, and I can see why people are not happy with it.
As many of you may recall, I have long had problems with the Academy Awards' on-air In Memoriam, at least since 2013 when they omitted Andy Griffith and others. I am still sore about the 2019 on-air In Memoriam, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences omitted my dearest Vanessa Marquez, despite a campaign to include her, but saw fit to include publicists and agents that no one had ever heard of. Now last night's In Memoriam only included such creatives as actors, directors, cinematographers, and so on, with nary an agent and publicist in sight, but it was still very poorly done.
For those who have not seen last night's In Memoriam from the 96th Academy Awards, it consisted of images and names of some who have died the past year on a screen while father and son tenors Andrea Boccelli and Matteo Boccelli sang "Time to Say Goodbye" and dancers performed an interpretative dance. Now I have no problem with a song being performed during the In Memoriam. After all, the far superior, annual TCM Remembers always has a song. The problem is that, as usual, last night's on-air Oscars In Memoriam seemed rushed. The images and names of the those who have died were on for only a few mere seconds. Making matters worse, sometimes they would have multiple names and images on the screen at once. This was complicated further by camera shots from awkward angles of the screen, not to mention that the dancers sometimes obscured the screens. Quite simply, it was often difficult to read the names of those who have died since last year's Oscars ceremony.
To make matters even worse, several individuals were relegated to small print at the end of the In Memoriam, including such stalwarts as Terence Davies, Norman Lear, Lance Reddick,Treat Williams, and others. The In Memoriam went by so fast that I am not sure of any outright omissions (as in the case of Andy Griffith in 2013 and my beloved Vanessa in 2019), but I am sure there were. It seems as if the Academy always leaves out some well-known movie stars each year.
Regardless, it seems to me that , as usual, not a lot of thought went into this year's Oscars In Memoriam. First, the Academy Awards In Memoriam is no place for an interpretative dance. After all, I am assuming the eyes of both those in the theatre and those at home will be on the screen. Second, the names and images of those who have died should be on the screen for more than a few mere seconds. I am not sure how long each person is on screen in TCM Remembers, but it seems considerably longer. It is certainly long enough that one can read their names. Last night's Oscars In Memoriam gave viewers little time to read the names at all. Third, the screen on which the images and names of those who have died should fill the whole screen for those viewing at home. I don't care who is singing during the In Memoriam. I don't care about an interpretative dance being performed during the In Memoriam. I want to see the images and names of those who have died. Fourth, the Academy should insure that far more actors, writers, directors, cinematographers, and other creatives are included in the In Memoriam. In many times, there are no excuses for omissions. There was no reason for them to have excluded Vanessa in 2019, particularly given she was a groundbreaking Latina actress who had starred in a classic film (Stand and Deliver). There was no reason for them to exclude the great Paul Sorvino last year, who starred in everything from Goodfellas (1990) to The Rocketeer (1991).
I have to suspect that the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences perhaps feel pressure to keep the In Memoriam to a certain length and to make it entertaining. I also suspect that this pressure comes from ABC, who have in the past few years tried to get the Academy to make the ceremony shorter. The problem is that each and every year, the on-air In Memoriam is the one thing that outrages viewers the most. We are angered by the fact that we sometimes can't see the screen due to awkward camera angles. We are angered by the fact that the names and images of beloved actors, writers, directors, and others are on for only a few seconds. And, most of all, we are angered by the exclusion of beloved actors, directors, writers, and other creatives. There is no reason the In Memoriam cannot be longer and done better. TCM Remembers generally runs around four and a half to five minutes and includes almost everyone. The images and names are on for longer than a few seconds. What is more, TCM Remembers is always enjoyable, if always very sad, to watch. There is no reason that the Academy can't do the same thing. As to the American Broadcasting Company, they need to stop worrying about what they want and start worrying about what viewers want went it comes to the Academy Awards ceremony.
Anyway, I didn't see that many movies released last year, so I don't have to much to say about the awards themselves. As a long time Godzilla fan, I am glad Godzilla Minus One (2023) won Best Visual Effects. I am a bit puzzled as to how Barbie (2023) lost Best Production Design and Best Costume Design (2023). I am sure Poor Things (2023) has great production design and costumes (I'll know for sure when I watch it later this week), but it's hard for me to see either being better than that of Barbie, which had some of the best production design and costumes I have seen in years. Finally, I would have given Best Song to "I'm Just Ken" from Barbie instead of "What Was I Made For?" from the same movie. I've loved "I'm Just Ken" ever since I first watched Barbie. I don't dislike "What Was I Made For?," but it doesn't particularly impress me either. By the way, I pulled up Ryan Gosling's performance of "I'm Just Ken" from last night's ceremony on YouTube, and it was great. I love the shout outs to musicals of old in the whole sequence.
Anyway, I think last night's Academy Awards ceremony proves once more that the Academy has a long way to go in doing a proper In Memoriam. Every year viewers complain about the In Memoriam, and yet it seems as if nothing every changes. They keep getting it wrong each year. I honestly think the Academy should just stop trying to do their own on air In Memoriam and just show TCM Remembers instead.
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