THE WORLD’S MOST TRIVIAL PET PEEVE….Friday’s New York Times story noting that Chris Rock won’t be hosting next year’s Academy Awards had this to say:
He was considered a bold choice as an Oscar host, hired to bring a youthful, more energetic pace to the sometimes plodding ceremony, which can run close to four hours. He did so, bringing the show to a close in just three hours.
Among my many pet peeves, the weird movie industry conspiracy to pretend that the Oscar ceremony mysteriously runs long every year is surely one of the most trivial. Still, what’s the deal with that? Chris Rock has exactly nothing to do with how long the show goes. The producer and director have everything to do with it, and judging by every other award show in the business, show producers are consistently able to time their productions down to the minute. The Academy Awards go long every year because they’re plainly designed to go long.
This is so obvious that it’s inexplicable that people keep pretending it isn’t true. What is it that accounts for this?
