And the Winner Is…

The long award season finally came to a conclusion last Sunday with the broadcast of the 84th Academy Awards. Starting with the nomination process back in December, it seemed like every week we had a different award show. The list has grown to include The Golden Globes, Writers Guild, Screen Actors Guild, The Critics Choice, BAFTA Awards, and The Spirit Awards. And that isn’t even a complete list.

This year the big winner was The Artist which is perhaps one of the most unlikely movies to win Best Picture since the surprise 1981 win for Chariots of Fires. I’m sure nobody had their money on The Artist, at least in the beginning. But as the award season rolled on, the critics and, more importantly, the Academy voters began to lock on to The Artist as their choice to take the big prizes.

The Artist won a total of five Oscars. Did I mention, it was in black and white? And not only that, it also was the first silent film to be made since 1929. And wait a minute. Here’s the final kicker. It’s actually a French film. Although it was shot in Los Angeles, it featured a French director and French actors. I’m not sure it’s the type of film that typical moviegoers would choice.

The Oscars is Hollywood’s big night to connect with the movie-going public. The Academy Awards traditionally draws one of television’s largest audiences for the year. Sunday’s broadcast has a 4% increase over last year’s with a 25.5 rating and a 38% audience share. The only programs that get bigger numbers would be the Super Bowl or the season finale of American Idol.

Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars for the 9th time which places him 2nd behind Bob Hope. I’ve always been a big fan of Billy Crystal. He adds a touch of elegance, class, and humor. He made it an overall entertaining night.

Only one film, The Help, which made $169 million, was both a hit with the critics and the movie-going public. In fact, it was the only film nominated for Best Picture that finished in the top 25 money makers. Most of the nominees were only mildly successful in terms of box office profits. In fact, The Artist didn’t even make the top 100. Will the Oscar help The Artist? Only time will tell.