Down To 65 Seconds

Peter Gabriel's decision to pull out of the Oscars certainly gets my backing. Artists should not be forced to compromise for anything or anyone. It's like Radio Edits -- they're very rarely (if ever) better than the original cut. But if they're cutting down on the song performances then what on earth are they going to fill the time with?

We already know that there's going to be a tribute to comedy, which is pretty ironic given that the Academy have always treated comic films with an err of inferiority. Here are some suggestions as to how else they can fill the void:-

• Lengthen everyone's clips to 30 seconds, and add brief clips for the tech categories.
  
• Allow the winners at least 90 seconds to give their speech.
• Give Hugh Jackman a musical number to sing, and preferably in a see-through top? ;-)
• Let Meryl Streep do an improptu 10-minute stand-up
• Show clips of Academy members exiting screenings, reacting to screenings, or recounting their favourite moments in cinema of the year. There's few things more generous of Actors than expressing their passion for film and disclosing their personal faves in the way we cinephiles do.