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Oscar advertisers fear downbeat films will bring low ratings

February 21st, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Now that those pesky writers have been satisfied, it’s time for television to get back to doing what they do best: coddling their advertisers.

This year’s crop of downbeat and obscure best picture nominees have advertisers wringing their hands. Instead of tuning in for quality, they are hoping viewers, fatigued after months of reruns, will award the Academy with high ratings.

According to the New York Post, of the five nominated films, Atonement, No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood and Juno, only one took in over $100 million at the box office.

Atonement is an exquisite, handsomely directed melodrama that is as demanding as it is devastatingly depressing. No Country is filled with graphic violence and enough clever plotting to keep general audiences away. There Will Be Blood is dank, character-driven and far too long to gain wide acceptance. Even fans of George Clooney are staying away from his earnest, duty-bound Michael Clayton.

The overwritten sitcom Juno glamorizes teen pregnancy and for my money is the darkest and most contemptible film of the bunch. It’s also the only one to ascended the box office ladder and reach the sacred $100 million mark. So much for my being in sync with the American public.

If the ratings tank it won’t be because the competition placed any roadblocks in the Academy’s path to success. Opposite the Oscarcast are reruns of Cold Case, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and The Simpsons.

The telecast, second only to the Super Bowl as TV’s biggest annual event, has been slipping in the ratings for years. Last year, 40 million people tuned in, up marginally from 39 million the previous year. Blame it on the glut of useless awards shows and and the hundreds of satellite channels vying for viewers’ attention.

Advertisers pay an average of $1.8 million for a 30-second spot.

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