Newsmark – How Much Is An Oscar Worth – March 26, 2989 – CBS Radio – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
The ritual is about to begin. Along with Spring, the arrival of the Oscars means a season is changing. Happens every year – and whether you watch the spectacle or not, take part in the gatherings, hand out ballots and take this opportunity once a year to scream and yell at the TV, it’s going to happen. Just like clockwork – months worth of hoopla, millions worth of hype, you are either going to blithely miss the whole thing or sit there, glued to the TV, wondering why you haven’t seen or even heard of half the movies that are nominated.
Doesn’t matter – the wheels of art and commerce groan on.
In recent years questions arise about the ethics of the Oscar ceremony, about the nominating process – how much money the studios pump in to make sure their chosen film wins and wins big. Been that way forever, as this segment of the CBS Radio program Newsmark makes clear – even in 1989 a fortune was spent getting the message out; persuading minds and winning votes. Then as now, the question has been “how much is an Oscar worth?” – these days it’s worth a lot more than it was in the 80s. Maybe because there is more at stake.
Whatever it is, truths to tell, it hasn’t changed all that much. Maybe the swag is more extravagant and maybe the ads are more extreme. But it’s part of the ritual and will be around as long as there are movies to be made and screenplays to be written.
Here is that segment “How Much Is An Oscar Worth” from Newsmark for March 26, 1989.
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