- Chris Pizzello/Associated Press
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.–The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has a new idea to try to cut down on one tradition loathed by Oscars producers and viewers alike: Acceptance speeches filled with "thank yous" to agents, studio, executives, and other people the audience has never heard of.
At an annual lunch for Oscar nominees held Monday, this year's Oscar producers David Hill and Reginald Hudlin introduced the thank-you crawl.
The idea is that while Leonardo DiCaprio or Brie Larson talks about a heartfelt issue they care about, tells an inspiring story, or expresses gratitude to one important mentor, a ticker on the bottom of the screen would list all of the people who worked on a film or helped their careers who they want to mention by name.
Messrs. Hill and Hudlin, like prior Oscar producers, are desperate to get their winners to help them create a show filled with compelling and emotional moments, rather than endless recitations of names.
But in a team-based business where relationships are everything, it won't be easy. In 2007, the Academy Awards introduced the "thank-you cam," a backstage camera where winners could thank more people in a video posted online. It didn't catch on.
Giggles could be heard in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Monday at the introduction of the thank you-crawl. "And now if you forget someone's name, you're really [in trouble]," commented one nominee.
But Messrs. Hill and Hudlin tried to make their case by pointing out how often winners forget someone important when they try to thank everyone in 45 seconds, and how painful it is to get played off by music just when you start talking about something important. To make the latter point, they showed a video from last year's show of Dana Perry, a winner for best documentary short, was played off as she started talking about her son's suicide.
Outside of private conversations, there was no mention of the controversy over diversity–or lack thereof–that has surrounded and at times threatened to overshadow this year's Oscars.
"This year we all know there's an elephant in the room," Academy President Cheryle Boone Isaacs said in introductory remarks. "I have asked the elephant to leave."
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