The string of disappointments and petty scandals emerging from the 2022 Academy Awards has led to a lot of negative backlash, including public criticism from star Wars and puppet artist Frank Oz. Oz, who is a writer and director as well as the original voice of Master Yoda and Miss Peggy, took to social media yesterday to express his frustration with the Oscars, but made it clear that his criticisms had nothing to do with Will Smith’s well-publicized explosion. . Instead, Oz told his followers he was frustrated with the Academy’s apparent decision to put film art in the back seat so they could catch up to a larger audience on television.
Long before the broadcast itself, the Academy drew criticism for its decisions to remove a number of categories from television broadcasts. Hoping to attract interest in the broadcasts, the academy also created a pair of special awards to be voted on by fans on social media, which weren’t warmly received by hardcore filmmakers.
You can see his tweet below.
After being a member for 30 years, I’m embarrassed to be associated with the Oscars broadcast. Not because of “The Slap” but because the show was fake. All I feel is a desperate attempt to attract more viewers by any means possible, not a show about the love of filmmaking.
– Frank Oz (@TheFrankOzJam) March 29, 2022
Oz stopped short of describing any frustration specifically, but reading between the lines, it wouldn’t be hard to assume he’s not impressed with any of the Academy’s aforementioned decisions.
Ironically, while most tweeting was angry at the Chris Rock/Will Smith row, Oz quipped, “Finally! The real thing at the Oscars!”
It seems unlikely that things will get any better for Oz and the other movie fans, though: CNN reported it yesterday Ratings “rose” for 2021. While this still gives this year’s broadcast the second lowest ratings ever, the Academy and Networks will likely adopt anything that reflects the downward slide in the ratings. After all, ABC, which aired the awards show this year, required some changes that drew so much criticism.
[ad_2]
