Baftas, Oscars, Emmies, Brits...does Anybody Care?

[jomifl]

Are these self-congratulatory smugfests of any relevance outside the entertainment industry.

[jno]

yes, potential audiences pay attention

http://www.businessinsider.com/oscarnomics-2013-how-much-is-oscar-really-worth-2013-2

[boxtops]

Not to me, they're not - they make no impact on me. I don't care about them at all - and half the time, I have no idea who the recipients are, or what they've not to deserve them.

[jomifl]

Interesting article jno but we will never know how well they would have done without the Oscars. It seems like a form of advertising where the 'luvvies' pay themselves for publicity rather than advertising agencies.

[jno]

well, you could compare how they do after awards with how the losers do. I don't have the figures but they're probably buried in Variety's archives somewhere. The usual pattern (though it's decades since I used to study them) is that winners of one of the three top awards (film/actor/actress) do typically see a spike in attendances.

[jomifl]

I can see that that would probably be the case but it might be a case of when rather than if.

[quizzywig]

All I know is that the Monday after the Oscars (and also leading up to it) the BBC Breakfast show is totally besotted with it. We have to listen to various reporters outside the various parties and the usual boring interviews, comments on the dresses people, celebs who attended the ceremony when all I'm interested in is hearing whats' happened in the world that doesn't involve luvvies!!! - yes I know I could switch to ITV but can't stand the adverts. (rant over)

[janbee]

Quizzy, I agree with you. xx

[jno]

you're quite right, quizzywig, in the last 10 years or so the media have started to go ape over the peripherals of who wore what. I just try to ignore it. But the awards - rather than the ceremony - do have financial consequences, and they have an effect on what entertainment we'll get in the future.

For instance, recent history shows that almost any film including British royalty will get you an Oscar. (The Madness of King George, Shakespeare in Love, The Queen, The King's Speech.) Last time out, though, it was American royalty (Lincoln.) Moral: to make money, invest in films about great white leaders. And people do just that.