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Oscar TV Ratings Saved!


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This certainly is not your daddy's Motion Picture Academy. After an L.A. Times article 'accusing' the Academy of having a membership of mostly white, males. The article's point is that a private society needs to reflect the country's demographics.

The latest brouhaha was wether Sacha Baron Cohen could walk the Red Carpet in his "Dictator" costume. Well the Board of Governors saw a ratings bonanza and after first refusing him, and calling it a "stunt" and revoking his tickets, has relented. Maybe next year the people who play Batman, The Hulk, and a Pirate on Hollywood Boulevard can appear too.

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Here is the news from Deadline Hollywood. (this link has been updated)

Sacha Baron Cohen Now Invited To Oscars As ‘The Dictator’: Academy Blinks

EXCLUSIVE: I can confirm that the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has reversed course and now invited Sacha Baron Cohen to stage his movie publicity stunt on the Red Carpet and then attend the Oscars show. “Does Sacha need a changing room?” the Academy in a conciliatory tone asked one of the actor’s reps today. Baron Cohen had planned to walk the Red Carpet in character as Middle Eastern General Alladeen and then change into a tuxedo to attend the awards show.

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adding more info, and correcting mis-info previously published:

" Earlier Friday, Cohen issued a video message in character promising to punish the "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Zionists" if it did not issue him tickets to the show by Sunday. (In reality, Cohen's tickets were never pulled, and he was never "banned" from the Oscars, as some outlets reported.) "

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-red-carpet-sacha-baron-cohen-dictator-294867

" Days after informing the ribald comic actor that his plans for roaming the red carpet as his character from The Dictator would not be a good idea, a producer of the show is saying Cohen is now welcome to use Hollywood's biggest night to plug his movie,.. The Academy seems to have recognized that it's better off with Sacha Baron Cohen at the Oscars than without him. "

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adding more info, and correcting mis-info previously published: "Earlier Friday, Cohen issued a video message in character promising to punish the "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Zionists" if it did not issue him tickets to the show by Sunday.

A friend of mine was outraged about this today, and I had to remind him that Sacha Baron Cohen is an Orthodox Jew, totally the opposite of the character he's playing -- which he did not know.

This is one of those things that's only funny if you're in on the joke. I'm sure there'll be people tuning in who'll say, "who the hell is this guy?" Should be fun, for five minutes.

I'm still predicting the show open will be Billy Crystal trying to stop workers from pulling the Kodak sign off the building...

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" I'm still predicting the show open will be Billy Crystal... "

While we can sort-of expect what the show will be like with Mr. Crystal hosting, I'm annually amazed that most of these award shows keep talking about all the "secret surprises" which they won't disclose (perhaps things they haven't yet thought of or planned for) expecting that vague promise to generate viewer interest and eyeballs...

"They" actually resisted Mr. Baron-Cohen's planning and announcing a stunt that is sure to generate eyeballs for the show, until, I guess, someone pointed that out to "them"..

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Yeah, I don't doubt that there were producers behind the scenes who may well have said, "hey, let's play out this 'drama' with Sacha Baron Cohen and then, at the last minute, give him passes to attend."

I'm shocked, shocked do you hear, that there are stunts being done in Hollywood in order to get publicity!

Update: and here's Mr. Cohen with a statement...

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" give him passes to attend "

small point: he already had his tickets and they were never rescinded....

" I'm shocked, shocked do you hear, that there are stunts being done in Hollywood in order to get publicity! "

and tune in tonight to see one.

(hard to make a play on: here are your winnings...)

..

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Yes, I agree 100% with Andy: I also noticed feedback much of the night and winced several times during the show. I feel bad for the house mixer. But... note that previous shows (many mixed by now-retired Ed Greene) generally did not have this problem. MSN actually had a headline with this story: What's Up with the Oscar Microphone Feedback? Anytime the general public comments on it, you know it's being noticed.

A trick a bunch of live TV sound people are doing nowadays is using a combination of directional lavs, feedback eliminators, careful EQ, plus rackmount iZotope noise-reduction units. Plus lots of rehearsals and tests. That theater is so big, and has such a strange shape (3 balconies!), I don't doubt it's a nightmare to mix in, especially when the people are walking around. I notice that on American Idol and similar reality/contest shows, the host typically can only use his or her wireless lavs on when they're standing in certain positions on the stage; the moment they're forward of the main speakers, they're forced to resort to a handheld tight cardioid, very close to the mouth.

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On 2nd thought I would have to believe there was something else going on beyond just simple feedback in the house sound system. It was more or less the same frequency and something very easy any professional sound mixer could notch out. Maybe it was a transmission or uplink problem. Towards the end of the show I heard some digital artifacts that I doubt came from the sound system.

Andy

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I have a few friends on Facebook that know the Production Mixer Paul Sandweiss. The short explanation is, everything sounded great in the house and on the truck here in LA. The problem has been traced back to network headquarters in NY which is where where the broadcasted originated. Most people listening in 5.1 Dolby had no problems but people listening in stereo were hearing there normal stereo mix AND the 5.1 stems at the same time. This is what caused the phasing sound on everyone who was speaking. It also caused the center channel to be a bit buried.

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