Just heard the numbers - Last nite's Oscar show was the highest rated

[CatWoman]

in the past 5 YEARS!!

EAT IT, FREEPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VIVA CHRIS ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Crankie Avalon]

1. Didn't watch it myself, but WHOOHOO...

...Oscar people: skewering Bush equals ratings.

[GalleryGod]

2. Hear!Hear! Thanks for info, CW!

:bounce: :toast: :bounce:

[oasis]

3. It was quite enjoyable. I give Chris Rock high marks as MC.

[davidwhite0570]

4. Chris was great.....

wish he could of said more.....darn FCC

[CatWoman]

5. Look at some of the shit that is being tossed around

http://news.google.com/news?q=OSCAR+RATINGS&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr

[CatWoman]

9. even Drudge posted the good news

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3oo.htm

[UdoKier]

20. He's acting like it's because of him.

If the Oscars had bombed, he'd have insinuated that it was because of him, too.

He's an egomaniac prick.

[tridim]

13. CNN: Oscar ratings sink with Rock

Gee thanks CNN, you lying pieces of shit. Did Bushco tell you to cook your numbers or are you on whore auto pilot now?

[Connie_Corleone]

6. I thought Chris Rock did a great job.

I don't know why some people thought he did a terrible job. I guess they were expecting him to do his usual standup comedy routine.

[northzax]

37. well, I can tell you my reason why

not that he did a terrible job, but it wasn't 'great' either. I simply didn't laugh. he's a comedian, his job is to make me laugh. he didn't. maybe a chuckle or two, that's what keeps it from being awful. His comedy is mean spirited and derisive. not what I'm looking for at the Oscars.

but that's just my opinion. plus, his voice grates on me.

[Toucano]

7. Does this mean the population of gay men has risen?

Must be because Mass. allows gay marriage so all the straight boys are ditching their girlfriends and wives and tuning in the Oscars!

LOL!

[ScaRBama]

8. I watch the Oscars every year.....

and thought it was a good show last night.
Why were there so many empty seats? I don't remember seeing that many empty for as long as I've been watching.
I still think they should let all the winners walk up on stage and be able to look out into the crowd.

[Verve]

10. Chris Rock did an excellent job! n/t

[Democrats_win]

11. Sorry everbody, its not true. Numbers were down

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|93848|1|,00.html

--snip
The 77th annual Oscars, which ABC aired Sunday night (Feb. 27), drew an average audience of 41.5 million people, according to preliminary estimates from Nielsen (final numbers come out Tuesday). That's down about 5 percent from the 43.5 million who watched the 2004 ceremony and the second-smallest Oscar audience since 2000 (the low point came in 2003, when only 33 million people watched).
--

The show wasn't that good except for Rock's great bush jokes. In the past Whoopi or Billy Crystal hosted and they always had a big production number to start it off. During the event, we could hear bangs as the production crew apparently dropped things backstage. This was just a poorly produced show.

Honestly does it matter to Democrats? Are we that vain? bush is leading our country into the crapper and there are no new jobs. Fake xstians are being arrested for mass murder, our soldiers are facing suicide bombs daily and the 9/11 mass murderers are still loose while gas prices will reach another record this spring. Hollywood gave us great fantasy in the 1930's but the future is too bleak. We need credit cards to comfort our heart in this dead country.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. I've got to disagree with that review -

I thought it was one of the best in a long time. No wretched, glitzy, overwrought production numbers to suffer through. The Santana/Banderas song was terrific.

Though I did wonder about the 'gunshot' during one of the presentations.

[saracat]

27. I was at a party and we voted Bandaras the worst musical performance EVER

He has such a weak voice Santana , who is always wonderful, drowned him out. A singer Bandaras isn't. He was dreadful in Evita as well. JMHO.

[CatWoman]

18. For every story saying that the Oscars were a bust, there are stories

saying that it was the highest rated show in 5 years:

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Feb/20050228News019.asp

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=538296

http://9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=5a2d9035-0abe-421a-01df-3e85b5796184&TEMPLATEID=b010ff41-ac1f-02c5-0009-00c014346932

http://www.variety.com/ac2005_article/VR1117918646?nav=news&categoryid=1778&cs=1

Plus, see my Drudge link above.

on edit, here it is: http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3oo.htm

Fuck Zap2it and CNN.

[Pithy Cherub]

19. Chris Rock did well.

You are correct that the production values on this were subpar. The way the awards were given was an embarrasment they should have the moment of going to the stage and saying thank you. Making the other nominees walk off the stage was just horrible. The awards from the seats were also lame.

Hollywood serves a commercial and artistic purpose, just sometimes not at the same time. Film is here to stay, we can get reality everywhere.

[CatWoman]

24. btw -- that link doesn't work

says "page not found".

I guess the page is hanging out with that story's credibility.

[AP]

12. Why'd Rock only get one comedy segment?

In the past, don't the hosts get two or three chances to do their thing?

The high numbers obviously had to do with the controversy over M$Baby -- the drama for which played out nicely with Aviator getting early awards.

The show itself had an interesting little narrative arc.

[dryan]

14. Worst Academy Awards ever...

and I have watched them since I was a little girl. Even the fashions were ugly. Chris Rock was okay but only Jamie Foxx's speech had any kind of pathos. Enjoyed the part about his grandmother. A real yawner!

[AP]

29. Rock, Eastwood and Foxx were all highliths if you asked me.

Eastwood and Foxx offered an interesting contrast regarding age. Young Foxx would love to have his grandmother there to see him now, and Eastwood, old enough to be a grandfather, has a mother who was there for both his Oscars, and then Lumet is 20 years older than Eastwood and he's still making movies. Also, Eastwood's fellow producer gave the excellent speech about lemon pie and it's OK to die now that he has an Oscar, and that his wife and family have always been there to support him.

It was all good stuff. What more could you want?

It certainly wasn't super-dramatic or super-cool, but, hey, it's just the Oscars. If I want great TV, I'll watch Veronica Mars.

[northzax]

38. and that speech was a duplicate

of the one he gave at the Golden Globes.

[maxsolomon]

15. timing was cut to the bone

that's why. they cut out the time it took the "minor" awards recipients to walk to the stage! obviously someone reviewed previous years with an eye to cutting 10 seconds here, 20 seconds there. that's why you had nominees sitting in groups, why you had acceptance speeches in the audience.

but they got it done by 11:36 EST, so the ends justified the means.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

21. thanks for the info

[Sparkle]

17. It was probably mostly freepers watching.

Idiots!

[shanti]

22. really, i didn't even watch this year...

*oh well*

[MissMarple]

23. We watched it for the first time in YEARS. It was OK.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. Much more fun to watch the Indy awards the night before.

More freewheeling, much less formal, in attire as well as format, and many of the same people, ironically. Instead of gowns, tuxedos and jewels, they are in Tshirts, jeans, casual dresses, ponytails. It is great fun to watch, and seems a lot more genuine.

The Independent Sprit Awards take place in a tent by the beach in Malibu.
Last year it was hosted by John Waters. I am drawing a blank on who hosted it this year.
4/5 of the best awards went to Sideways: The Best picture was Sideways, Best Actor was Paul Giamati, Best Actress was Catalina Sandino Moreno(Maria Full of Grace), Supporting Actress was Virgina Madsen, Supporting Actor was Thomas Haden Church


More info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=7748160

[Blue_In_AK]

26. I enjoyed the Oscars

and even my husband did, after he swore he wasn't going to watch.

[stanwyck]

28. This is why this is important

whether you watched or not. Chris Rock's destruction of Dubya was on prime time for the masses. Dissatisfaction is now mainstream. It's not just us. It's not just "crazy lefties Michael Moore, Tim Robbins, or Sean Penn." It's last Saturday SNL with Barbara and Jenna contemplating how to deal with having "the worst president -- ever" as papa. It's not just Jon Stewart and Co. or even Bill Mahr on cable. This was broadcast to the world, to a huge network audience.
This is where the battles are fought -- in the court of public opinion. This is what turned the tide of Viet Nam. And secured civil rights.
When the average American starts hearing the grumbling, it's over.

[CrispyQ]

30. IMO, Letterman was the best.

I thought some of Chris Rock's stuff was mean. Saying if you have to take So&So cuz SomeoneBetter isn't available, then just wait. And that comment 'you won't be able to take your eyes of the next four presenters,' & Penelope Cruz & Salma Hayek walk out. I'm no prude, but that wasn't funny. And the whole Katherine Zeta Jones part with Adam Sandlar - that wasn't funny, although I'm sure lots thought these parts were funny.


on edit: The comments about boosh were right on, though!

[CatWoman]

31. Yet he still used himself as an item of ridicule

in the "available" skit.

You get it or you don't.

You have a sense of humor, or you don't.

[CrispyQ]

39. Well, I guess I don't have a sense of humor.

Perhaps in one of his stand up routines it would have been funny, but I didn't think the premier event for actors was the appropriate place to put down actors, even mediocre/poor ones.

Certainly we can agree that not everyone finds the same things funny. Just because I didn't find Rock funny doesn't mean I don't have a sense of humor.

[Tomee450]

41. I have never liked Chris Rock.

His comedy is just too mean spirited for my taste.

[Emboldened Chimp]

32. Rock was good, the awards were boring and the format sucked....

Some random thoughts...

After Rock's opening monologue and his one skit at the Magic Johnson theater, it seemed like he disappeared from the broadcast. But he made me laugh, which is more than what Whoopi and Dave ever did.

I'm glad they got rid of the segment where they pan across the still-alive Oscar winners--many of whom the audience won't recognize anyway. That segment was always the slowest, most boring damn thing about the show. Kudos to the person who decided to nix it. That said, I loathed the presentations that were given out in the audience. They treated the nominees of the so-called lesser categories like they were second class citizens. Let them do the walk on stage like everyone else, dammit.

The awards themselves (i.e. who won) were as expected. No surprises or upsets. Everyone knew Clint would beat Marty; that Hillary would beat Annette; that Sideways and Eternal Sunshine would win (though hats off to Kaufman for finally winning).

All in all, the show was better than last year (the worst I've seen, imo), but there is a lot more the Academy needs to do to keep the show interesting, starting with give Oscars to people who not only deserve it but are not expected to win.

[alfredo]

33. CNN is now saying the numbers were down.

Fuck assholes

[CatWoman]

34. and Drudge is contradicting himself

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3oo.htm

[West Coast Democrat]

35. Per CBS, beat expections, but down from last year

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yhoo/story.asp?guid=%7B74278E0B-8007-45DF-A86A-C44AF58C93C6%7D&siteid=myyahoo&dist=myyahoo

[wildflower]

36. AP: ABC scores high with Oscar ratings (AP/Columbia Tribune)

ABC scores high with Oscar ratings

Published Monday, February 28, 2005

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Jamie Foxx weren’t the only winners at the Academy Awards. Preliminary indications are it was a strong ratings performer for ABC.

The Oscars’ 30.1 rating in Nielsen Media Research’s 56 top markets was a slight 1 percent improvement over last year’s comparable number, and it was the highest-rated Academy Awards in the metered markets since 2000. The rating is an estimate that nearly 33 million households were tuned in.

Nationwide viewership totals were to become available later today.

Last year’s Oscars were seen by 43.5 million people, a sharp 32 percent increase over 2003. Considering the ominous signs of ratings declines for the Golden Globes and Grammys this year, the numbers left ABC executives pleased.

"Obviously, Chris Rock as host had an impact in the resurgence of the numbers," said Larry Hyams, vice president of audience analysis and research at ABC.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Feb/20050228News019.asp

ON EDIT: I've also seen a few articles about the fact that a lot of the attendees were wearing blue this year...

[tinonedown]

40. Shazam!!!!

Best news I heard all day. And after all the Drudge and right wingnuts said don't tune in. Looks like America did. Way to go Chris Rock!!!!!!

[ultraist]

42. Chris Rock is getting MAJOR air time today too!!!

LIBERAL HOLLYWOOD SPEAKS THE TRUTH!

They have Rush and Ann and we have Michael Moore and Chris Rock! LMAO!!!

LIBERALS HAVE MORE FUN!

[robbedvoter]

43. If you missed it, here's a transcript:

http://www.juiceenewsdaily.com/0205/news/rock_bush.html

[tinonedown]

44. Did notice numbers were actually down, nationally

So I take back my Shazam, but I enjoyed the ceremony anyways and enjoyed for the most part Chris Rock as host.