In a move that didn't surprise anyone, the committee that oversees The Independent Spirit Awards announced that they would be changing the date for their annual awards presentation. Naturally, the ceremony will now be on February 28th, one day before the new date for the Academy Awards, which will be one month earlier than in the past. The Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards had already announced their new, earlier dates, so the fact that everyone else is doing the same seems like an obvious conclusion.

When the Academy announced it would be conducting their ceremony a month in advance, I was glad to hear it because it makes sense to have it closer to the end of the preceding year. It may also force studios to start releasing more of their Oscar-caliber films in November and December to wider audiences rather than waiting until mid-February. You have to figure the entire release system will shift by at least two or three weeks if studios want to generate any awards buzz as they have in years past. On the other hand, why is it that every other awards ceremony in town insists on being first?

I understand The Golden Globes - there's some history there, comparing the films and actors they award against the Academy's choices, but why not have at least one decent awards ceremony after the Oscars? The Academy always leaves some people dissatisfied, and I'm sure many would like to see a film that was ignored at the big show get some last minute dues elsewhere before we start concentrating on the next year.

Posted August 14, 2003 | link