Don't mess with the Oscars

So the Oscars have finally rolled around. I used to relish it as a highlight of the year until BBC lost the rights to Sky. Highlights just don't cut it - too many musical interludes, a sanitised version with all the controversial - and funny - speeches edited out. You can't beat sitting up all night, popcorn and beer on hand, waiting to see if your predictions come true and if the Academy throws any curveballs.

Anyway, even without that excitement, I'm eager to see who they pick this year (you can see my predictions on the Datablog nominees/winners tracker, if you scroll through the comments at the bottom).

There's an argument (espoused by David Thomson on the Guardian blog this week) that the Oscars are losing favour with the American public - viewing figures seem to get lower every year - but I think that's missing the point. Yes, the nominated films sometimes have little or no audience at the American box office. But the awards should be about quality, not popularity. Some of the biggest films in the US are really poor - Big Momma's House anyone?

Even if the Academy voted along populist lines, they're unlikely to get viewing figures anything like decades ago, when the public revered their film stars, before their every flaw was instantly revealed on gossip websites.

Cut the budget, by all means - scrap the gimmicks, the hugely expensive presenter goody bags, the self-congratularoy love-ins, the horribly unfunny scripted comedy sketches, all those musical interludes - but don't pander to a public - and a network - that doesn't care about quality filmmaking.

Oscars night is about the industry, voted for by the industry, and the people who genuinely care about good filmmaking will keep watching. Everyone else can watch the MTV Movie Awards.