Rethink.

Recent ratings for the Academy Awards have been - to say the least - abysmal , a downward trend of bad to worse. Ratings for last year's ceremony were the lowest ever, according to Nielsen figures, and down nearly 20 percent from the year before. ABC’s showing of the 80th Annual Academy Awards attracted 32 million viewers . The broadcast lasted from 8:30 to 11:38 p.m. ET ( Source ). The 2003 ceremony was Oscar's previous low, with 33 million viewers ( Source ). An average of 39.9 million people watched the 79th annual Academy Awards two years ago, an improvement of one million viewers from the year before but still down from the '04 and '05 shows. "The Departed" took home the Best Picture Oscar. Ellen DeGeneres hosted; the show ran about three hours and 50 minutes -- the longest Oscarcast since the 2002 show, which stretched to more than four hours ( Source ). According to a study by Nielsen Preview , Academy Awards viewership correlates directly with the b...

Tomorrow evening, my talk show's annual Oscar ® Special airs on my Web site, http://jmolnar.net/chat . We filmed the episode on Valentine's Day and our panelists had some great commentary to share. Here is the preview: Side note : Voting ends tomorrow evening for mtvU's Red Carpet Correspondent contest. Vote here .

Poking around the Web this morning, I stumbled across the official press release (and even high resolution images!) by the Rockwell Group about the set for Sunday's ceremony , which I discussed yesterday in a post (see here ). Some more details I learned: David Rockwell is the first architect to design an Oscar set Designed to "create an atmosphere of an elegant party rather than a formal gathering" Twelve "transforming sets" depicted throughout the night Peninsula part of stage ("thrust stage") will have four steps between the sage and seating level in order to bring presenters closer to audience Stage floor will be "an abstract floral pattern referencing the curve of the thrust stage" Here are the images I found (click for larger view): Above and to the right is the picture used on the cover of Sunday's New York Times Arts&Leisure cover.  Above is a picture I have not seen anywhere else; it depicts eight different settings for...

I was looking at Sunday and Monday's preparation photos and noticed a slight modification in the Kodak Theatre's iconic archway façade , where the stars head into the Academy Awards presentation from the red carpet. If you look at the above photo, you'll notice "theatre" no longer in all caps and a slight modification of the word "Kodak." The logo is now in keeping with the changed Kodak logo , which was revealing at the beginning of 2006. Since the theatre opened in November 2001, the logo would need to be changed. The company paid an estimated $75 million to have its name associated with the theatre - and consequently the Oscars. (The 3,332-seat cost $94 million to build.) Thus, why wouldn't Kodak want its refreshed logo updated on the arch. Interesting observation is all. Now you know.

I opened my Sunday New York Times with much surprise. Were my eyes seeing what I thought...? It was not a dream. There was the set for Sunday's 81st Annual Academy Awards ceremony , pictured grandly on the Arts&Leisure cover. Here are the details extracted from the 1,900-word article, which can be read if full here : This year's set is designed by none other than the architect of the Kodak Theatre itself - the very place designed for the ceremony: David Rockwell . (Note NYT, its theat re , not theater.) Rockwell said he is out to " redefine the show's DNA ," trying to tame the beast - "a show on television celebrating the movies in a theater," as writer Patricia Leigh Brown describes it. " It's about celebration ," said Rockwell, 52. " We want to make it less a big, pre-taped package and more a live show . " Rockwell designed the set with all this in mind. The set includes a 92,000-Swarovski-crystal curtain , fluted crystal ch...

Hi everyone who is reading my blog or subscribing to the RSS feed. I wanted to take moment to tell you about this upcoming (amazing) week and a little bit about myself. First, if you're subscribing to my RSS feed, try to visit my actual page at least daily. I will be posting videos and other media onto this page; however, some content might not appear in the RSS feed (or on Facebook, for example) because I will be using the sidebar to the left. So please, come visit the Web page. Second, I will be posting anything and everything related to the Academy Awards - from the setup and the secrets to the red carpet. If I miss anything, comment and fill me in. Also, follow me on Twitter (jamesamolnar) this weekend for the latest news. Finally, I want to prove myself to you about why I should be your source for Oscar news: I've been watching, taping and rewatching the ceremonies for nearly a decade; I have bought every ceremony poster (except one) since they were made available to th...

Academy President Sid Ganis was in Chicago Friday to open the " Meet the Oscars, Chicago " exhibition. He was at The Shops at North Bridge on Michigan Avenue downtown. All Chicago people need to see this! My friends and I went to the one adjacent to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood last year. It was awesome to be able to hold an Oscar statuette - albeit for a limited time. Make sure you get there quick, though. Remember, this is the only exhibit this year so it will probably be packed . The exhibition closes next Sunday , Feb. 22nd (Oscar Sunday). Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. The president of the statuette maker, R.S. Owens, Scott Siegel helped cut the ribbon. Other notes: Some singing drama, as reported by E!: Peter Gabriel announced to Laurence Mark , producer of this year's ceremony, that he will be attending the Oscars, but he won't be performing during the Best Song medley with ...