The Golden Globes Changes The Rules – Why The Oscars Should Follow Suit

I have a confession to make: I think the Golden Globes are dumb.

I’m not quite sure how a bunch of sketchy sorta-journalists who may or may not be accredited somehow became an awards season bellwether, even though we don’t really know who they are, they aren’t really accountable to anyone, they classify movies that aren’t comedies as “comedies,” and are often ridiculed within the confines of their own awards show broadcast.

Like, say, this past January, when The Martian won awards for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Best Musical or Comedy, and both Matt Damon and Ridley Scott joked about it while they held their trophies in their hands. Don’t get me wrong, I loved The Martian. It was my favorite film of 2015 and I saw it five times in the theater (yes, really), and as witty and charming as it was, it sure as heckfire weren’t no comedy.

Basically, my attitude about the Globes is, and has always been, that I think they’re completely ridiculous, and will continue to believe so unless and until I actually win one – at which point I will go full hypocrite and express my deep and abiding respect, admiration and affection for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association until the band plays me off the stage.

So you can imagine how conflicted I was the other day when I saw that the HFPA actually responded to criticism by changing its rules. On the one hand, I salute the organization and its members for stepping up and admitting that, perhaps, something was a bit askew in their voting process. On the other, I’m chagrined to lose that arrow in my quiver of criticism.

But let’s give credit where it’s due. From now on, the HFPA will classify movies as they should be, preventing another kerfuffle like the one involving The Martian, as well as other important distinctions like, defining “original score” and specifying who should receive that award, specifying who should receive the screenplay award, changing the foreign language motion picture eligibility period to a 15-month one to coincide with the Academy’s, and, perhaps most importantly, both providing for a blackout period when studios and publicists may not lobby HFPA members about award classification issues and establishing a rule against inviting members to events with nominees during the period after the nominations are announced. There’s more, of course, but those are the big ones, and they are all, admittedly, welcome. I would hesitate to say that they bring real legitimacy to the proceedings, but they certainly don’t hurt.

The thing is, though, with the Golden Globes making such sweeping changes in an effort at self-improvement, it made me think that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences could stand to do the same. I know, I know, we just finished up an interminable awards season less than two months ago, so the last thing we want to deal with right now is more of it, but I would argue that now is, in fact, the perfect time to have this chat, what with six months before the next awards season begins anew.

I won’t hold my breath, of course, but if they do decide to make some changes — aside from the much-heralded and ongoing push for diversity — I have some suggestions.

For starters, let’s address the voting aspect. The diversity issue is, indeed, an issue, but that has as much to do with the movies being released as it does with the way the Academy members vote. If there are only a few films each year that feature minority actors, that limits voters’ options, which makes it much more of a systemic problem than an Academy one. That said, it would be nice to know how each race actually shook out. Not just the final totals, but also the nominations. Open things up and let us see how the various branches determined the nominees, before the entire voting body decided on the eventual winners.

Next, shorten the damn show. Do we really need to continue to sit through three-and-a-half hours of self-congratulatory nonsense? Do we really need all the “clever” banter between the presenters who, let’s face it, often have no business being in the building? Or to sit through all the montages and sketches and such? I certainly don’t. Combine all the nominated songs into a single medley and, with genuine apologies and all due respect to the short and technical categories, how about awarding those off the air? Right now, there are 24 categories handed out during the telecast. Take out the three shorts, the two sound categories, VFX, and hair and makeup. That leaves 17, and if you can’t hand out four acting categories, two writing categories, Best Song, Score, Foreign Film, Feature Documentary, Animated Feature, Editing, Cinematography, Costume and Production Design, Director and Picture in two-and-a-half hours, you’re not trying hard enough.

Stop sending out screeners. Force members to attend screenings, or allow them to download the film for immediate viewing, and don’t let them vote unless they’ve seen everything nominated. Additionally, force members to actually see the movies during the year, before they nominate anything. Insure that each member has seen a minimum number of films — say, one per week? — to even be allowed to vote. Enforcing this is not terribly hard. Make everything digital, and have members log in to the Academy website once a week to update their viewing habits. If you’re not up to date, you don’t get a ballot. It’s that simple.

Ban ‘For Your Consideration’ ads. For that matter, no marketing or campaigning at all. You want to prevent Awards Season Fatigue? Stop inundating us with this stuff. Another way to do it? Cut down on all the pre-Oscars ceremonies that have popped up over the years. What’s that you say? How can the AMPAS do anything about this? Easy. Make it clear that anyone who shows up for another awards show besides the Academy Awards isn’t invited to the Oscars.

Act tough, be tough, and make the show and the ceremony more meaningful. It’s no coincidence that the ratings have gone down precipitously in the last 10-15 years as more and more awards shows have popped up in the weeks and months preceding it. You think people won’t tune in for their one shot to see Leo or J-Law take the stage? Please.

“But Neil,” I can hear some of you asking, “why should we care about this? Do the Oscars even really matter anymore?” Yes. Yes, they do. Not only do the awards mean millions of dollars in revenue, and not only do they help careers and bring attention to people and causes that matter, there is also a mystique about the Academy Awards. History and tradition don’t mean the same things to everyone, but being recognized as the best by others in one’s industry means something. It always has, and it always will.

Ultimately, we end up covering the same ground every year. How do we fix the Oscars? Everyone has an opinion. The thing is, the Golden Globes has faced a lot of the same criticism, and now they’re doing something about it. The Academy would be wise, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, to follow the HFPA’s lead.

Neil Turitz is a filmmaker and journalist who has spent close to two decades in the independent film world and writing about Hollywood. Aside from being a screenwriter/director and Tracking Board columnist, he is also a senior editor at SSN Insider.