The Oscars have lost 22 million viewers since 1998. So what are the show’s producers going to do about it? The Wall Street Journal (no link) reveals the brilliant plan:
– “ABC has asked writers on its prime-time series to weave the Oscars into their story lines. In an episode of ‘It’s All Relative,’ for example, one character will get mad at another who breaks the remote control, spoiling plans to watch the Oscars.”
– “In addition, characters on three ABC daytime soaps–‘General Hospital,’ ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘All My Children’–will talk about the awards show, saying they plan to watch the Sunday telecast or attend an Oscar party. They will stop short of saying they are watching on ABC because the network figured that was obvious.”
– “For the ceremony itself, [producer Joe] Roth says he is building the Oscars as a comedy show, employing an army of writers to churn out one liners.”
– “And he is promising an appearance by Best Actor nominee Sean Penn, a no-show at the Globes.”
– “Marketing the show under the slogan ‘Expect the Unexpected,’ Mr. Roth says he hopes to foster the kind of spontaneity exhibited last year, when Best Actor winner Adrien Brody passionately embraced presenter Halle Berry on stage. But that ‘Unexpected’ slogan may be slightly misleading….Following the controversy over Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl halftime stunt, ABC has imposed a five-second delay on the telecast, meaning it will review comments and images before they are broadcast and could censor them” (emphasis added).
Would somebody come over here and break my remote, please? I don’t think I’ll be able to stand the suspense.