I Would Not Like To Thank the Academy

Dear Members of the Academy,

I have been an avid follower of movies over the past decade and in turn a follower of the Academy Awards. I go to the theatre nearly every week, keep a close eye on imdb ratings and even see what box office sales are like week to week. I am writing to inform you that you are completely out of touch with the population and your fans.

The most recent awards show last month epitomized the Oscars reputation of appealing to only the critics. The major awards went to The Artist (Best Picture, Actor and Director), which as you obviously know because you voted for it is a silent film. I myself watched and did like The Artist, but with its box office revenues hardly deserve these so-called dignified awards. In the Best Actress category, you once again awarded your favorite Meryl Streep who has almost been nominated every year I’ve been watching. Sure Streep is good but really 17 times seems a little ridiculous.  With the past few year’s bringing box office flops to the red carpet with The King’s Speech, The Hurt Locker and No Country for Old Men, it is time to allow the fans to have a say in “Hollywood’s greatest night.”

Look at the fan favorite Harry Potter series in which many believe actors such as Alan Rickman, as Severus Snape, should have had multiple wins  and the series itself for being so popular should have had at least a couple Best Picture nods.  The fan favorite comic book movies never even get a look, except the rare nomination for Best Visual Effects, and poor Robert Pattinson has every pre-pubescent teenage girl raving about him and cannot get a single Academy member to acknowledge his performances.

I plead to the Academy when looking at nominees next year, instead of choosing George Clooney for another boring drama or Meryl Streep for some biopic of historical figure to take a chance on Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man,  Jennifer Lawrence for The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen or even Jennifer Anniston for some typical romantic  comedy. Choose anything that your fans, not just your members actually like and pay money to see.

With little hope of change,

Travis Payne