Annie, Mary, are you going to skip classes next Monday morning to catch
the live broadcast of the Oscars?

YA! I’ve got extra space on my sofa if you’d like to come over and watch.

Thanks. But my English professor would kill me. I missed too many of his lectures this semester already, and my grades are suffering.

Poor Mary! But so did I. By the way, I remember the awards show will be rebroadcasted next Monday evening.

It’s true. And, by that time Chinese subtitles will have been added.

Come to think of it, the host tells lots of jokes that can be hard to understand without any translation.     

I’m pretty excited that this year might be different from past year, so I feel the ceremony will particularly be worth catching this time.

How can it be like this way?

Annie: I agree. I saw the list of new Academy members in the papers recently, and with a lot of younger names among them, I feel that some of the edgier movies and their stars might finally have a real chance at winning some awards.

Why do you think new members will make a difference, Elfi?

The older members tend to vote for dramas, especially movies about the more disadvantaged member of society.

Do you mean if the storylines are about physically or mentally challenged persons, the actors or actresses that portray them have a better shot at taking home a golden statuette?

Historically speaking , their chances are good. For example, Dustin Hoffman got Best Actor for Rain Man. I’m not saying they didn’t deserve to win, but it’s less likely that someone like Johnny Depp playing a pirate would actually pick up a Best Actor Oscar.

But don’t actors and actresses nominate actors and actress just as directors nominate directors and cinematographers nominate cinematographers?

But Academy members can vote in every category even if they can only nominate within their own field.

When that happens, it skews the results because the majority of the 6,000 members are middle-aged or older.

And if they have more conventional tastes, then they’ll keep your preferences from having a chance at winning.

Exactly. And that’s why I’m glad to see names like Jamie Fox, Clive Owen and Zhang Ziyi on this year’s list of new Academy members.

There’s no guarantee that just because these stars are younger than say Liz Taylor , that you’ll get the outcome you’re looking for.

True. Especially since rules don’t permit more than 30 new members per year.

Ironically, that means by the time enough young members are in the Academy, they’ll be calling me and my taste old.

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By 林憶婷 、陳俐安、李琦妮