John Bailey also said the category isn’t dead yet: “There’s still interest.”
Vanity Fair: The best popular film category might not be presented at next year’s Oscars, but the Academy is still keeping the idea in its back pocket. Film Academy president John Bailey confirmed as much during a recent talk at the EnergaCamerimage Festival in Bydgoszcz, Poland, according to Variety—saying that while the parameters for the award might shift, having a category designed to reward a “best general release is very much on our minds.”
Bailey also confirmed that the award was designed as a direct response to the ceremony’s disappointing ratings, which have fallen steadily over the last few years. Drawing viewers in by catering to mainstream hits “seemed like a good idea” to the board at the time, he said, but the pushback against the proposed new category was strong enough that the Academy ultimately announced that it would no longer introduce the prize at the 2019 ceremony. However, that is “not to say that the idea is dead,” he added. “Even after a stake was driven through its heart, there’s still interest.”
Bailey pointed out that there is Oscar precedent for handing out two different sorts of best picture awards. At the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, the best picture category was split into two sections, with one recognizing the best-box-office hit (Wings), and the other the best artistic production (Sunrise). The newly created best popular film category was intended to be a stand-in for the section that awarded Wings. But to the modern film world, the new category smacked of condescension—a way to reward blockbuster movies otherwise not considered prestigious enough to warrant Oscars on their own. The award was instantly nicknamed the “Black Panther award,” since the Marvel film presumably would have been a front-runner for the category—and its creation would have been an easy way for the Academy to decorate it, even though Academy members typically snub superhero offerings in the best picture category.
Bailey also tipped off some of the Academy’s ongoing conversations about the future of the organization and the televised Oscar ceremony, noting that Disney, which owns ABC, is trying to “expand the awards to millennials,” in order to help the telecast thrive through ABC’s 2028 contract. In addition, Bailey wants to draw in a more global audience. “One of the things I am most committed to is expanding awareness and visibility for the foreign language award,” he said. “To me, that award is every bit as important as the best picture award—it’s the best picture award for the rest of the world.”
In the meantime, the Academy isn’t courting any new categories or branches (such as one for stunt performers) just yet. “A number of different crafts would like to be represented, and there are ongoing discussions about creating new branches,” he noted. “But right now, we’re trying to reduce the size of the board. However, nothing is written in stone.”
–Courtesy: Vanity Fair
