TWO WORDS FORBIDDEN AT THE OSCARS

Thank you. In the never ending effort to liven and speed up the Oscars, Bill Mechanic, this year's co-producer, told the nominees that the long thank yous are "the single-most hated thing about the show," and they are not to say Thank You. Can you imagine being told that you can't say thank you at all?  This is a drinking game for sure only if you want to make it to the end of the show, you only take a drink when someone DOESN'T say thank you.

Nominees have been told to have two speeches prepared in case they win: one to be short and sweet, telling the live audience in 45 seconds or less what the Oscar means to them, and a second, as long as necessary, to be delivered in front of a "Thank You Cam" backstage, where they can thank everyone from their agent to the maid's dog.

So close and yet so far. They still don't get it and by they I mean Bill Mechanic. One of the best things about award shows are the acceptance speeches but they are also one of the worst things as well. When a winner has a prepared and impassioned speech I learn more about the person and about the project. Unfortunately, most winners think an acceptance speech is nothing more than a list of names. It's not the speeches from the unknowns that bore us it's the boring speeches.

My suggestion is instead of a Thank You Cam, each nominee should provide a file of captioned photos that can be displayed/played while they make their way to the stage and give their acceptance speech. This way the winner gets to publicly thank everyone and we get to put faces with names. Also, the file doesn't need to only be thank you's, it could also be location photos or how to help info or future project info - it can be anything.