For a few years, the Oscars looked to be hanging on by a thread. . The pandemic didn't help. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind Hollywood鈥檚 biggest night, kept finding itself on the wrong side of the conversation, whether it be , , the blip that was the , the or .
Then a funny thing happened: Interest started increasing both in and outside the academy. It seemed people were excited about the movies and, they hope, the again.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an amazing year for film in general,鈥� film academy said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. 鈥淥ur art form has never been more relevant.鈥�
The scope, and wide public embrace, of this year are proof. There is big studio fare, small intimate indies, two international films and two bilingual ones. And whether or not you think 鈥淏arbie鈥� was snubbed in a few other categories, and at the .
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of great energy around the movies of 2023 and the show this year. So we鈥檙e extremely hopeful and excited,鈥� Kramer said. 鈥淭he show is shaping up to be remarkable.鈥�
Academy President Janet Yang chimed in that the 鈥淏arbie鈥�-themed has over 35 million views, and the telecast is riding several years of ratings increases.
A UNIFYING MOMENT
After some rough patches, the Oscars may have finally met the moment. But that comes as no surprise to the academy鈥檚 leaders, who have been working behind the scenes to foster this kind of evolution as they approach their 100th year. Both Kramer and Yang, who assumed their positions in 2022, are looking at the organization as a global entity. They鈥檙e not on the defensive anymore, instead pushing toward the future.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very unique in the sense that we represent all the disciplines of the industry. No other organization can say that,鈥� said Yang. 鈥淲e feel like we are in a potentially strong leadership position to unify. 鈥� We hear from members all the time 鈥楬ow can we have more inter-branch meetings?' They just want to gather, and we can bring this.鈥�
Nearly a century ago, unification wasn鈥檛 part of the plan. In fact, Louis B. Mayer got the idea to start the academy in part to counteract unionization efforts, under the pretense that it would help set standards. In reality, he envisioned the studio heads setting these standards with only their own interests in mind. Mayer鈥檚 dream evaporated quickly, however, and by the 1930s, writers, actors and directors were all forming unions.
As proof of how far they鈥檝e come, , the academy took the initiative to host two member conversations about pressing topics: one about artificial intelligence and another about how the strikes were impacting members from traditionally marginalized communities.
鈥淲e felt that it was our responsibility,鈥� Kramer said. 鈥淎nd we are in a position to actually do this, to create a space for our members to have honest, safe conversations around these topics.鈥�
鈥淚t gave us a lot of food for thought,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd eventually these conversations will inform perhaps policies and procedures at the academy or inspire others in the industry to think differently.鈥�
A MORE DIVERSE ACADEMY...
The academy as a catalyst for change is not new: They have longstanding programs for helping emerging artists (Academy Gold, the Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting and the Student Academy Awards among them). And its aggressive move to diversify its membership was in place before Yang and Kramer started, in response to #OscarsSoWhite and public exposes about its own ranks being largely older white men.
They鈥檝e also taken more proactive steps in recent years to impact the industry they give awards to, including implementing the that went into effect this year.
Now there are more than 10,500 members in the academy, representing more than 75 countries and territories. While parity is still a work in progress, 20% of members are from outside the U.S., 34% of members identify as women and 18% are from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities.
鈥淲e represent executives, editors, visual effects artists, technologists, and artisans and professionals across disciplines. 鈥� Not everybody is singing the same notes and not everybody feels the same way. But we can bring everybody together,鈥� Kramer said. 鈥淕iven the past couple of years with the pandemic, and the strikes, and to all of the topics associated with the strikes, the academy needs to remain a neutral ground for these conversations.鈥�
...ENGAGING MORE WITH THE PUBLIC
There has also been substantial focus on engaging the public through social media, often drawing on the academy鈥檚 vast archival material 鈥� whether that be vintage acceptance speeches or just memorable moments from Oscars past.
Their Instagram account is close to 4 million followers and their is a treasure trove of fun clips: Leonardo DiCaprio's best actor win (54 million views), Hugh Jackman's 2009 opening number (23 million views), Chris Rock鈥檚 opening monologue (16 million views), Jack Black and Will Ferrell singing 鈥淕et Off the Stage鈥� (15 million views), and Fred Astaire dancing at the 1970 Oscars (13 million views).
The interest in movie history has also driven enthusiasm around the , which houses more than 23 million items of memorabilia, and has hosted exhibitions on everything from Hayao Miyazaki and the history of Black Cinema to 鈥淭he Godfather鈥� and the films of John Waters. Kramer noted that about half of the ticket buyers are under the age of 40.
But it鈥檚 not just about relics: Short videos they鈥檝e made spotlighting below-the-line categories in the lead-up to the Oscars have also taken off. One about has over 4 million views. They鈥檙e rolling out similar shorts for this year鈥檚 nominees soon too.
THE ACADEMY'S FUTURE
All of this plays into a different way of looking at the Oscars and the academy's place in the culture.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we think about: How do we change our metric of success? We want millions and millions of people around the world to watch the show the night of, but we also want people watching it for many days after the initial run and on social in perpetuity,鈥� Kramer said. 鈥淭his is evergreen programming. And people overseas, outside of the U.S., engage with the show in a lot of different ways.鈥�
All of these conversations will continue about the future of the industry, the academy, its membership, and, Yang said, even 鈥渨eaning鈥� the Oscars from ABC in a few years (the current contract runs through 2028). For both, one of the most satisfying experiences was the overwhelmingly positive response to 鈥� something that had been discussed for decades 鈥� but was finally voted in this year.
鈥淚 think people feel gratified knowing that we can change. The reputation of the past was, you know, it was a little stodgy,鈥� Yang said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been an entrepreneurial experience while maintaining the legacy of this very, very revered institution.鈥�
And they hope the academy will stay at the center of it all.
鈥淏usiness models are changing. The way people are engaging with movies and arts is changing. And the academy is really at the center of that conversation for the film community,鈥� Kramer added. 鈥淲e have a great responsibility to think this through and to ensure that the academy has a successful second 100 years.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
