The Oscar nominations spoke yesterday, and they said, “Shh!” ABC’s response? “Sh – – !” The list made it clear that the Feb. 26 ceremony will be among the least-watched editions of the collapsing telecast.
Silent, black-and-white and made by obscure Frenchmen, “The Artist” was nevertheless established as the overwhelming favorite to sweep the Oscars, having landed 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, Director and Original Screenplay.
So: Give it up for old Hollywood faves Jean Dujardin (“The Artist” star), Michel Hazanavicius (the director) and Bérénice Bejo (the starlet).
Who? In theaters since November, “The Artist” has sold fewer tickets than “Red Tails” sold last weekend, proving wrong anyone who argued that what multiplex crowds really want is a no-star B&W movie whose entire complement of dialogue could fit in a fortune cookie.
In keeping with the academy’s ruthlessly efficient mission to destroy its own relevance and viewership, the overall leader in nominations, with 11, was “Hugo,” a sumptuous Martin Scorsese box-office flop that’s also obsessed with things Frenchy and silent — it’s a fantasy about the mood swings of the greatest moviemaker of 1902, France’s Georges Méliès.
The two acting nods for “The Artist,” combining with the honors for Max von Sydow, a Best Supporting Actor nominee as a mute elderly man who somehow manages to listen to an incessantly prattling little Upper West Side twit without throttling him in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” means that three of the 20 acting nominations were for silent acting.
Maybe Billy Crystal, who is old enough to have gone to film school with Méliès, will mime his hosting duties?
Stung by entirely correct accusations that it panders to the sweaty hordes, movieland has in recent years decided to set aside 1/365th of its calendar to make an unconvincing statement about its devotion to Art. Oscar’s 2009 pick, “The Hurt Locker,” registered as the single least-seen movie ever to win top honors, which until the past couple of decades almost invariably went to a big hit.
After the debacle of 2009, when “The Dark Knight,” despite uniting critics and audiences in rapture, failed to get a Best Picture nomination (yeah, nominee “Frost/Nixon” was much more culturally significant), the academy dumped a 66-year tradition and announced it was expanding the field from five to 10 nominees. Surely a blockbuster would make the shortlist and bring back TV viewers? Yet for two years, voters complained they couldn’t find 10 great movies. This year the academy said the number of Best Picture hopefuls would be flexible depending on merit, and delivered nine nominees. Despite massive critical and audience acclaim, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” wasn’t among them. Oops.
Ratings of ABC’s telecast, which drew 57 million viewers when the hugely popular 1997 film “Titanic” won, have registered three of their worst four numbers in the last four years. The only uptick came when “Avatar” was perceived as having a shot at Best Picture (yet lost to “The Hurt Locker”).
That duel — between two films directed by ex-spouses — also provided gossipy suspense. This year, few will be awake, much less on the edges of their seats, when “The Artist” celebrates la victoire. (The last and only silent film to win Best Picture was the first honoree, 1927’s “Wings.” The last completely B&W winner was 1960’s “The Apartment.”)
In this year’s crop of Best Picture nominees, only “The Help” was a smash, but its presence on the shortlist won’t goose viewership much because it has no chance of winning, having been snubbed in the Best Director and Best Screenplay lists. The civil rights drama did receive a Best Actress nom for Viola Davis and Best Supporting Actress nominations for Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain.
In recent years, the Oscarcast was moved from 10 p.m. to 8, slid from Monday nights to Sundays and edged from March into February sweeps. It’s tried to be hip with hosts Jon Stewart and then James Franco, and regretted it. With Oscar night promising to be a silent night, could the ratings peak during the only unmapped portion of the evening — the red-carpet ceremony? Maybe, but then again, is America really saying, “I can’t wait to see what Bérénice Bejo is wearing”?
kyle.smith@nypost.com
Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards
Best Picture
* “The Artist”
• “The Descendants”
* “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
* “The Help”
* “Hugo”
* “Midnight in Paris”
* “Moneyball”
* “The Tree of Life”
* “War Horse”
Actor in a Leading Role
* Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
* George Clooney in “The Descendants”
* Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
* Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
* Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”
Actress in a Leading Role
* Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
* Viola Davis in “The Help”
* Rooney Mara in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
* Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
* Michelle Williams in “My Week With Marilyn”
Actor in a Supporting Role
* Kenneth Branagh in “My Week With Marilyn”
* Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
* Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
* Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
* Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Actress in a Supporting Role
* Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
* Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
* Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
* Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
* Octavia Spencer in “The Help”