Vanity Fair has up a piece about Jerry Lewis using his fame and power to mistreat women. I was initially leery of it because its authors include the folks who did that one-sided (and to my mind, wrong-sided) Allen v. Farrow documentary for HBO but this new article rings true. Part of that is because they interviewed multiple women who told of Jerry's horrendous behavior. And also, Lewis did a lot of shameful and arrogant things not involving women. Judge for yourself.
Much fuss is being made about the announcement that the Academy Awards will drop a number of categories from the live, on-air telecast and present them at the ceremony but not on the air. The categories they will present before the world are Actor in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Animated Feature Film, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Documentary (Feature), International Feature Film, Music (Original Song), Visual Effects, Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Writing (Original Screenplay) and Best Picture.
First off, I think marginalizing the other categories is a mistake. When you see someone win for Film Editing or Makeup and Hairstyling, you're probably seeing the high point in that person's life and maybe even a moment that will change their career for the better. When you see Spielberg win for Best Director, it's just another award for a guy who's already got a lot of them.
But forget about that. Why does anyone who isn't nominated and/or stands to profit from an award even care about that ceremony? Clearly, every year, fewer people do. No one thinks the statues always wind up on the right mantles and many folks are just tired of seeing rich and famous people honor each other. The Academy Awards have long been a dysfunctional institution but somehow, people who think that keep being disappointed by it. Just take a cue from the 2013 winner for Best Original Song: "Let it Go!'