The Oscars Have Revolutionized Awards Speeches

Watching frazzled celebrities walk up on stage with a crumpled piece of paper in their hand, only to scramble for minutes to remember the names of all of the people they need to thank, has become the norm. In fact, I'd even say it is an age-old tradition at this point. Apparently, it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, this year, there will be scrolling names during Oscar winners' acceptance speeches, as a brand new way for those winners to express their gratitude to the people in their lives and careers who helped them get to where they are today.

On Monday, at the annual nominee's luncheon, producers shared their plans for letting winners share their thank you's. Nominees will be asked to share a list of the people they would like to thank prior to the February 28 broadcast. Then, if they win, their list of people they wish to thank will scroll past on the bottom of the screen while they are giving their speech. Reginald Hudlin and David Hill are producing this years 88th Academy Awards, and are the masterminds behind this new system. It's not only a way to be more efficient for speeches, but also a way to really let the winners explain what this award means to them in a meaningful way. Hill told The Hollywood Reporter:

Acceptance speeches have become a list of names and more often than not, time ran out before something could be spoken from the heart about the art, about the vision, about the experience, about the meaning of the moment. We needed to rethink how this could be a better experience for everyone.

Over the years, these speeches have become a sort of laundry list of executives, producers, directors, and the list goes on, literally. This barely leaves time for the actors and actresses to express what winning the award means to them. By the time they get to that point, there is only a quick few seconds before they are ushered off the stage with the music. Nothing is more uncomfortable than watching an actor win the award of their career while trying to shout over the sound of the orchestra music. Not only will this help for the sake of time, but they understand that people actually want to hear the heartfelt thank you's of the celebrities receiving such a prestigious award.

Hopefully, this will represent a new shift in the way awards speeches are given over the years, and allow for much more heartfelt and real moments to touch the hearts of the audience watching the ceremony. (It will be interesting to see how it plays out on this Sunday's show with Leonardo DiCaprio's award speech. I'm just planning ahead.)