You don’t react, you LEAD!

You don’t try to save your old business, you invent a new one!

But don’t expect the Academy to be savvy about its own business.

This is the story of disruption, this is the story of Netflix stealing eyeballs from the traditional players. Meanwhile, Bob Iger says Disney is so good, it doesn’t have to create as much content. That’s like Amazon saying it’s not going to sell all products and it’s not going to let third parties sell on its site. Meanwhile, you know the lion’s share of Amazon’s profit comes from AWS, Amazon Web Service, its cloud product, right? Not the idea of Bezos by the way, nor was Prime, which bonds customers to the company.

So they’re gonna have a “Popular” Oscar, aka “Popcorn” Oscar. What next, a team spirit baseball award? A most expensive record at the Grammys?

As for limiting the show to three hours, is this really why people aren’t watching? Of course not! It’s not like you don’t watch baseball because the games are so long, you just don’t want to watch baseball! Furthermore, the people who complain loudest are those already watching the show, if you want to appeal to new people… They’d say make the show TWO hours and have it be totally different.

Maybe the Oscars are outmoded. Maybe the Academy has lost touch with the business. Since the same companies make television and film, maybe its best to combine the two, like the Golden Globes! Maybe it’s best to make the show a party like the Golden Globes, THAT’S WHAT THEY WERE ORIGINALLY!

And twenty minutes long.

It’s when you get puffed-up and believe your own story that you lose touch. What next, the propping up of every antique enterprise that’s faded in the internet era? I’m no Republican, but sometimes you have to let the market take its course. You can’t hold back the tide of change. Maybe it’s the Oscars themselves that must be flipped. Make them ALL popular and have a separate show for the indie/foreign/meaningful flicks, akin to the Indie Spirit Awards.

And how about a bit of irreverence, that’s what made MTV’s awards shows triumph. First and foremost it’s a TV show, if it’s not entertaining, few will watch. That’s the first rule of entertainment, it must be PALATABLE!

And if you think this is solely about the Oscars you’re dreaming.

This is evidence of baby boomer domination. The boomers remember when film drove the culture, they want to return to those days.

The baby boomers want to return to the days of the album. They want to return to physical product. They want you to put down your smartphone. They want you to save the local newspaper. They want you to save the bookstore. It’s an endless anti-digital campaign. And how is this working for them?