I debated on posting anything about this, but I finally realized that was one of the reasons that I started my own website 20+ years ago, to let have my own soapbox to express my thoughts about the industry that I love so much. Because as much as I promote the “discover” part, I feel we have taken a few steps back by these recent events.

Recently, the Oscars announced that 8 categories were going to be cut from the live broadcast, and the awards handed out before the live televised program. The categories cut are documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live action short and sound. There was an immediate reaction from all over the film industry, which is completely understandable. The comment from the American Cinema Editors stated that it “sends a message that some creative disciplines are more vital than others.” Sadly, a very true statement.

We’ve known for quite some time that the ratings have been dropping for the Oscars over the last decade, so they are trying to bring that audience back in. David Rubin, president of the academy, stated that this year’s presentation will be “tighter and more electric”.

For years, my wife and I watched the Oscars each and every year. I was sitting in front of my TV when Rick Baker was given the very first Oscar for the newly created category for Best Makeup for An American Werewolf in London (1981). Granted, I knew the horror genre usually got slighted for nominations, but every now and then we got a win, such as when Kathy Bates won Best Actress for her role in Rob Reiner’s Misery (1990), and the ton of awards Silence of the Lambs took home the following year. Hell, even in The Shape of Water (2017) took home 4 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, with being nominated in another 9 categories. While it might not be called a horror film, it definitely was a monster movie! But that’s another rant.

We stopped watching them several years ago because even then, it started to be less and less about the craft we should be celebrating, and more about being a popularity contest. They combined the makeup award with hairstyling, sometimes barely having any nominees announced. I can safety tell you that every single year, there were plenty of films in the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy sub-genres that should have easily been up for that award. But nothing.

None the less, all the time we watched it, I was just as excited to see the technical awards as the acting categories. Being a fan of cinema, I knew only a sliver of the work that goes into creating a motion picture, most of which is invisible to the average person watching the film, but it always fascinated me seeing some behind-the-scenes action that goes into creating a movie. It seems the Academy doesn’t think most watching notice the editing, how well the music or sound design works and how effective it is in the story, how the actors are transformed into something different onscreen due to the talented makeup artists, to even how the set around them looks. These talented people need to be applauded and showcased just as much as the faces that we see on the screen. They are just as essential.

I read a quote from another “top trophy advisor” who said, “an Oscar is an Oscar. Just because it’s not in the live telecast doesn’t devalue the recognition.”

I disagree. Yes, winning the Oscar is a great achievement in that person’s career and will probably affect their lives forever, no matter if it was broadcast or not. But here’s a couple of reasons why it does “devalue” it. When you take it off the broadcast, it goes along with the out-of-site/out-of-mind way of things, and makes it seem as if it is not an important part of the industry. Plus, and an even bigger reason, is that it won’t enlighten and inspire future generations of film lovers and filmmakers.

Decades ago, when Star Wars came out in 1977, there were thousands of young fans that wanted to know how that film was made. How were the effects created? How did they make all those special effects look so damn cool? How did they create all those new worlds and fill them out with such strange and unusual creatures? Thankfully, there were plenty of magazines that helped answer those questions, which in turn got a lot of people interested in following one of those as a career path. They showed them that there is so much more into making a film than just being in front of the camera.

When a young fan realizes that there is an actual job where you can help create new worlds, or change a person’s appearance into something completely different, or building new worlds for these actors to perform on, it will make them dream. It will inspire them. Yes, watching the film could have the same inspirations as Star Wars did all those years ago. But that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be in the spotlight just as much as the actor.

To dimmish the rest of what goes on behind the camera as not being as important as to who is standing in front of it, hurts the industry as a whole, giving it a black eye that cannot be fixed by lighting, makeup, or editing.

Please, bring back those awards. Showcase and applaud those hardworking and talented individuals and let us ‘discover’ their amazing work.