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And hey, how about cutting some of those commercial breaks? Some people made a big stink this week, for example, out of how many commercial breaks Lost's season premiere seemed to have (no more than usual, for the curious). Well, the various televised awards ceremonies actually do have lots of commercial breaks. The final hour is split up between a few awards and 40 minutes of ads. Yes, the Oscars are a heavily marketed show, with advertising rates being extremely high. But if there were fewer ads, wouldn't the rates be higher, as there were fewer slots available?

I know that some of the changes I'm proposing may sound pretty sucky. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the Oscars shouldn't be shortened by that much. If the Academy wants to double the number of nominees in the Best Picture category, maybe we should expect a longer ceremony. Maybe that's not a bad thing. I'm not saying that, for example, having Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as the hosts is going to pay off as much as some people hope (the idea that It's Complicated was going to be nominated for anything is, of course, by the wayside). But having hosts is a good thing. Having interludes is fine - as long as they're connected to the movies in question. But shortening the ceremony, and making that such a chief goal of the entire program, is a potential show-killer. Mechanic and Shankman should focus on making sure the movies that are nominated are given their due on national television, and that Martin and Baldwin do funny stuff.

My final rant is this: Mechanic and Shankman should also not be so damn worried about the "young" audience. Speaking as someone in the coveted 18-49 demographic for advertisers, I'm watching the show. I'd be watching the show with or without this column, or this site. I like movies. A lot of young people like movies. A lot of people saw Avatar, and they might watch even if rumored presenter Taylor Lautner (and, just quickly - give me a damn break with this kid) shows up. Getting younger actors doesn't really do any wonders for a ceremony honoring the best in film, not the worst. The producers should focus on the movies, not some weird form of social networking. And now, I'll take my soapbox and go home.

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