Oscar Ratings: Ignore the Suggestions, Academy

This years Oscar telecast had the worst ratings in history. A lot of people are suggesting ways to increase viewership for the upcoming years. They say it would be helpful to:

1) Nominate more popular movies
- The Oscars should never turn themselves into an MTV Awards Show just to appeal to "Transformers" and "Spider-Man 3" fans. Please keep it classy, Oscar.

2) Only air important categories
- Everyone should be rewarded with the ability to make a speech on live television. The Oscars are about awarding every single branch there is when it comes to film making. To say Sound Editors are less important than say, Supporting Actors, is absolutely ridiculous.

3) Let the public have a say
- Some people suggest letting the public vote for some kind of "Fan Favorite" award. No. An Academy Award is the biggest honor in the entertainment industry, and it wouldn't be fair to have Shia LaBeouf or Will Ferrell winning 20 Oscars when some people have zip.

The real reason why this Oscar telecast flopped? Only one of the movies nominated for the top prize, "Juno", was a big box office hit. It isn't a matter of the general public losing interest over the years, considering last year's telecast had great ratings. The reason for that was because there were hits like "The Departed" and "Little Miss Sunshine" nominated. That's all.

I'm not saying the Oscars should ever go out of their way to nominate the moneymakers. As long as ratings don't dip below 30 million, who really cares?

Also, they might want to try getting a good host. Jon Stewart pretty much flopped once and flopped again. No second chances allowed!

Into the Future

I don't think it's ever too early to start predicting the Oscars. Us "Oscarologists" have nothing else to do but look ahead and see what could be coming our way. So we've compiled a short list of possible contenders who could rock the Oscars next year. Some will turn out to be great, some will be a flop "Flags of our Fathers" or "Rendition" style.

"Revolutionary Road" is the movie most people are keeping their eyes on. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio reunite in a suburban drama which focuses on the couples dreams and aspirations during the 50s. Release date: December 19.

Sam Mendes (American Beauty) directed and the movie was written by Justin Haythe. The problem is Haythe isn't a fantastic writer (he wrote 2004's poorly reviewed The Clearing). "Revolutionary Road" seems like a strong contender for Actor & Actress and possibly Costume Design, but it has high expectations after "Titanic" swept the Oscars in 1998.

"Doubt" stars Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, with the supporting cast being Amy Adams and Viola Davis. This, in my opinion, is the one that could end up sweeping. John Patrick Shanley isn't an experienced director, but he is still a genius when it comes to writing screenplays. Shanley won an Oscar for writing "Moonstruck" and he wrote the Award-winning play version of "Doubt". Since he is writing the screenplay, he could be able to capture the magic of the play. Release date: December 5.

The movie is about a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a black student. Academy favorites Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman could easily make a return. Viola Davis is receiving a lot of buzz after she won a Tony Award a few years ago. Her role is apparently very baity, and her ethnicity could help her out (like it did Ruby Dee).

Our last contender of the day: "Australia". Nicole Kidman plays an English aristocrat in control of a cattle station in Australia. She is assisted by a drover played by Hugh Jackman. He helps her drive the cattle across the property as they are under the threat of nearby Darwin being bombed. Release date: November 14.

It sounds like the perfect mix for Oscar: a period epic film with romance. Ronald Harwood (The Pianist, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly) wrote the script and "Australia" is directed by the overdue Baz Luhrmann. Nicole has recently had flop after flop, but sort of came back with "Margot at the Wedding". This movie could be a hit or miss.