The campaign is over. Oscar ballots were due last night at 5:00PM, and the envelopes that arrive late because of the President’s Day holiday will simply be tossed aside. The Academy doesn’t tolerate procrastination, and has also been resistant to transferring to an online voting system (they’ll probably make the move next year). Therefore, at this very moment, men and women toil away, counting votes in the old-fashioned style, surrounded and monitored by security that parallels the President’s. All that Viola and Jean and Marty and George and Meryl can do now is sit around and wait until Sunday night.
This means that it’s time to make your last predictions and top off all your party plans. If you haven’t seen all (or any) of this year’s films, no need to worry–the Oscars are good for you, too. Not only will everyone around you finally stop talking about movies you haven’t seen, but you’ll soon have the opportunity to see all the big winners for yourself, since traditionally, the Best Picture goes on to play on thousands of screens following this Sunday, and many other nominees have timed their DVD and VOD releases for the days after the big night.
So, no matter who you are or what you’ve watched this past year, tune in this Sunday to check out one of our most beloved cultural events. And before you criticize the broadcast or flip to another channel or fall asleep, think of all the exciting things you might miss while you’re not watching. Will Meryl win her first award in 29 years? Will the Academy favor a new French George Clooney over the original? Will Harvey Weinstein continue his reign as King Oscar? Will Billy Crystal arrive stoned, unenthusiastic, and dressed like a woman, with a giddy Anne Hathaway on his arm? (He can’t be worse than that!) Remember, the Oscars will be all anyone talks about for the next week. Take a hint from the Academy’s corny ‘celebrate the movies’ theme, and take a moment this weekend to, well, celebrate the movies.
Happy Oscars, folks. I’ll be back next week with a post-show breakdown.
Jennifer Sperber currently studies Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and works in TV Production and Development at Zodiak USA. When she’s not writing film or television, or writing about it, she is usually watching it.
