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AWARDS DATABASE
All of the winners, all of the nominees, all of the awards shows.
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Frenzy:
Will the pre-show hysteria on the red carpet be enough to keep people watching the ceremony?
(Al Seib / LAT) 
Fall guy?:
If Oscar ratings drop, host Jon Stewart could be saddled with part of the blame.
(Bob D'Amico / ABC) 
Tired ratings:
If Oscar ratings remain flat, it could be because the films nominated were neither blockbusters nor true independent films.
(Anacleto Rapping / LAT) 
Indie minded:
No matter what movies are nominated for Oscar, the real place to see independent film in the spotlight is the day before, at the Independent Spirit Awards.
(Marilynn Young) Recent Columns
It's appropriate that Oscars are gold, since winning one can make a fortune for talent or a studio. This column will look at the business of Hollywood's awards season, and what all that money being spent really buys. Send your ideas, comments, criticisms, tips and pontifications to James.Bates@latimes.com
Headline: "Oscar ratings flat from year-earlier"
Expected Spin: —Any, or all, of the above. Independent's real day This year's Oscar nominees are full of independent films, which aren't really that independent because they are distributed by "specialty" arms of big companies. For instance, "Brokeback Mountain" is distributed by Focus Features, which happens to be part of Universal Pictures, which happens to be part of NBC Universal, which happens to be part of General Electric Co., which happens to be one of the world's biggest corporations. So much for the aura of a small film. The real awards honoring smaller films is Film Independent's Independent Spirit Awards, which sets up its tent on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., on Saturday for a ceremony that airs live on the Independent Film Channel, reruns on AMC and has a red carpet event on the WE channel. A look at the group's nonprofit financial documents filed with the IRS shows that, like the films it honors, the Spirit Awards operate on a shoestring budget. If the Oscars are the "King Kong" of spending, then the Spirits are "Junebug." According to the most recent numbers available, Film Independent's awards and separate film festival bring in $4.5 million. By contrast, last year's Oscars reaped $50.9 million, according to the academy's financial documents. |
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