Why Everyone Is Wrong About The Oscars Show

The New York Times, The New York Post, the LA Times, USA Today -- everyone agrees that the Oscars show is in danger of being irrelevant because of the nominees. And they're all wrong. Here are the myths about the Oscars:

1. It's dominated by tiny little independent films.
2. People don't care about the movies nominated because they haven't seen them.
3. Ratings will drop because there are no blockbusters nominated.
4. Brokeback Mountain is controversial.

Let's tackle #1: the Big Nominees are "independent films." Of course, the term "independent film" is almost meaningless. Budget is not a good measuring stick and neither is the studio distributing it. All that really matters are the stars. So of the five Best Picture nominees -- Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night and Good Luck and Munich -- I'd say only Capote is an independent film in the classic sense. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a recognizable name to afficionados and Catherine Keener just co-starred in the blockbuster The 40 Year Old Virgin, but no one in the movie opens films and they're more beloved by critics than known by moviegoers. Frankly, Munich with its $70 million budget and low-key cast is as much of an independent film as any of them. But of course it's directed by the most popular movie director in the world.

But Brokeback Mountain? Please. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal have starred in a string of high profile movies and appeared in countless interviews and gossip magazines even before this film exploded. And Michelle Williams starred in one of the iconic TV shows of the 90s (Dawson's Creek). This is not a no-name movie with unknown actors.

Crash? This LA drama is practically like MGM -- it has more stars than there are in heaven. Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Phillipe, Jennifer Esposito, Laurenz Tate -- it's a huge, diverse, recognizable cast that can appeal to every minority group there is. It was also the year's biggest word of mouth hit -- $50 million scored over six months at the box office provides a lot more audience recognition than $100 million scored by a movie that collapses after the first weekend. It's not just Oscar voters who loved this movie; it's viewers all over the country.

Good Night And Good Luck was directed by and stars George Clooney, one of the most famous and popular actors on the planet (ER, Batman, Ocean's Eleven, etc.) and is chock full of other names like Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella and the journeyman David Strathairn. And Joaquin Phoneix and Reese Witherspoon are up for big awards in another audience pleaser, Walk The Line. My point: whether a movie costs $5 million or $150 million, if its cast is full of stars that moviegoers recognize, it's hardly a tiny, "indie" film.