As things began disintegrating on Tuesday, the tiny village of 6,000 or so Academy members closed ranks, and began showering Mr. Sherak not so much with demands to lose Mr. Ratner of which there were some but with offers to help save the February telecast on ABC from further (damage).
Mr. Grazer, whose credits include the Oscar-winning “A Beautiful Mind,” was not alone in offering to put his film work on the back burner for four months to join Don Mischer, a television veteran, in (producing) the show. There were others. And if Mr. Crystal had not stepped in as host, fellow stars were ready to help, said Mr. Sherak, who spoke on Thursday, while events were unfolding.
“I got such an outpouring,” he said. “He’ll do it. He’ll do it. I’ll get this one for you,” he said of proffers from Academy members and (supporters) who clearly knew that trouble for the Oscars would be disastrous for the industry as a whole. The show brings in about $80 million a year for the Academy, and much more for people and companies with movies in the race.
That it should be Mr. Crystal who saved the day met little disapproval from those who gathered on Saturday night, even if it means that the Academy’s quest for youth and a more diverse audience will yield once more to a neo-vaudevillian who is often compared here to Bob Hope, who holds the (record) as the 19-time host of the show.
For less conventional choices, there are always the Governors Awards.
Last year those made a deep bow toward foreign cinema with an Oscar for the director Jean-Luc Godard, who was instantly caught in an uproar over what were claimed to be his anti-Jewish views, and he didn’t show up to collect his award.
This time the honors for Ms. Winfrey, who is barely a presence in the movie world, despite a handful producing (credits) as on " The Great Debaters" and a 1986 Oscar nomination for her work in "The Color Purple" might best be seen as providing a role model for the kind of charity that more (established) film figures could do if they worked at it the way she does.
