March 03, 2005
3/3 - Short Editorial: Oscars and Oceans
As you ponder the wisdom of all the time we spend at SB working on silly comedy (by the way, there's a new Groundlings short film in the works due for April, stay tuned), just take a look at this year's Oscars evening. The stuffy, white bread Motion Picture Academy (which by the way is what the USC undergrads I spoke with last fall thought the letters MPA stood for) went with black comic Chris Rock as the host.
So what happened? He brought the level of dignity down a notch, but they reached a bigger audience than last year and bucked the trend of declining audiences for award shows (Grammys and Emmys both took a big dive this year).
And he brought diversity. And he brought irreverence. And he brought humor. All the things that ocean conservation has traditionally lacked. And ... he brought a bigger audience ...
Chris Rock. Case in point.
Oscar Host Chris Rock: Just what the oceans need?
Posted by Randy Olson at March 3, 2005 03:33 AM