hosted the 62nd Academy Awards.|alt=Photo of Billy Crystal. After the negative reception received from the
preceding year's ceremony, AMPAS created an Awards Presentation Review Committee to evaluate and determine why the telecast earned such a negative reaction from the media and the entertainment industry. The committee later determined that Carr's biggest mistake was allowing the questionable opening number to run for 12 minutes. Producer and former
Directors Guild of America president
Gilbert Cates, who headed the committee, said that Carr would not have received such harsh criticism if the number had been much shorter. Malden explained the decision to hire him, saying, "Cates, a veteran film and TV director known for his tasteful work in both media, will attempt to rectify the damage the last Oscar show did to the Academy's reputation." "We are extremely pleased to have Billy host the show," Cates said in a press release justifying his choice. "His unique talents and his ability to handle the unexpected will be important assets this year." Cates christened the show with the theme "Around the World in 3 1/2 Hours," commenting that it would be "a party thrown around the world". He also explained, "The world is changing, and hopefully the awards show is changing, matching the changes in the world." Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony. Documentary filmmaker
Chuck Workman assembled a montage saluting "100 Years at the Movies" that was shown at the beginning of the telecast. Film composer and musician
Bill Conti served as musical director for the ceremony. Dancer and singer
Paula Abdul supervised the Best Song nominee performances and a dance number featuring the Best Costume Design nominees. Singer
Diana Ross performed the Oscar-winning song "
Over the Rainbow" in a tribute to the 50th anniversary of
The Wizard of Oz.
Box office performance of nominees At the time of the nominations announcement on February 14, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $244 million with an average of $48.9 million.
Dead Poets Society was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $95.8 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by
Field of Dreams ($64.4 million),
Born on the Fourth of July ($48.6 million),
Driving Miss Daisy ($35.6 million) and
My Left Foot ($2.1 million).
Critical reviews The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Film critic
Janet Maslin of
The New York Times gave an average review of Crystal but lamented, "The effort to make this year's Academy Awards show an international media miracle led to nothing but headaches."
Howard Rosenberg of the
Los Angeles Times quipped that the broadcast was "a conventional telecast that was arguably an extension of an industry calcified by convention". He gave positive remarks toward Crystal but felt that "The Oscarcast was an old kid on the block." Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively.
USA Today television critic Matt Roush lauded "...the glib and savvy Billy Crystal, who kept things as lively and funny as he could all night long. What a chore, too." He concluded that, "Hollywood no doubt went to bed happy (maybe early), because for a change, Oscar didn't embarrass himself." Mike Drew of the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel remarked, "While too "inside" and not as funny as Hollywood thinks he is, Crystal was an efficient host." Film critic
Carrie Rickey of
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "It was encouraging that director Gilbert Cates took the opportunity to emphasize films instead of chorus girls." She also extolled Crystal's performance, acknowledging that his "nimble opening number set a
Johnny Carson comic tone."
Ratings and reception The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 40.24 million people over its length, which was a 5% decrease from the
previous year's ceremony. An estimated 70 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also drew lower
Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony, with 27.82% of households watching over a 49.42 share. In July 1990, the ceremony presentation received five nominations at the
42nd Primetime Emmys. Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for
Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program (Roy Christopher and Greg Richman). ==See also==