Posted on: Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Chris Rock fails to attract Oscar crowd
By Gary Levin
USA Today
Chris Rock may have charged up the Oscars, but he didn't bring more viewers with him.
Mark J. Terrill • Associated Press Oddly, viewership among Rock's young-male fan base — always in shorter supply for the Oscars — fell from last year, though more young women watched.
Rock had his fans: "He was fun, witty, and jabbed celebrities and Hollywood just enough without crossing the line," says Nathan Rasmussen, 27, of Orlando.
He also had his detractors, such as viewer Bill Shea, 45, of North Salem, N.Y., who calls this year's Oscars "the most boring telecast ever."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it has not discussed who will host next year's awards.
"All in all a lackluster show for a lackluster year in movies," says Justin Bogdanovitch, 39, of Sioux Falls, S.D.
Other viewer beefs included the "beauty pageant"-style lineup of some nominees, with losers "slinking off" the stage; the too-ubiquitous Beyonce, who sang three nominated songs; and the banter by Rock and Adam Sandler when "presenter" Catherine Zeta-Jones "went missing" — a staged bit, according to the network.
The 77th annual Academy Awards averaged 41.5 million viewers Sunday, a 5 percent drop from last year. And aside from the record-low turnout of 33 million in 2002, when musical "Chicago" won the best-picture Oscar, this year marked the least-watched Oscars since 1997, when the art-house film "The English Patient" took top honors.
In his first time as host of the Academy Awards, Chris Rock didn't bring in more viewers. About 41.5 million tuned in Sunday, a drop of 5 percent from last year. Some viewers said it was the most boring Oscar telecast ever.
