Apart from the fact that the Oscar Awards telecast on 24 February averaged the lowest number of viewers (29.16 million) since the modern ratings system was launched, the organisers have received flak for certain “oversights’ in the awards event.
Both Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin were overlooked in the montage featuring past Oscar hosts. Goldberg, herself an Oscar winner for best supporting actress for “Ghost’, was not only the first woman ever to host the Oscars, but played host on two occasions. Oscar producer Gil Cates has since apologised to Goldberg for the omission.
Additionally, the recently departed actors Brad Renfro and Roy Scheider were absent from the Oscars’ “In Memoriam’ montage. Other big names absent were Robert Goulet, Merv Griffin and Marcel Marceau.
It is believed that the hurried organisation of the Oscars, as a result of the late resolution of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, is to blame for the oversights. (Source: Studio Briefing).
