Michael Schulman on Oscars History, and a Visit with “Annie” Composer Charles Strouse

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

News, David, Books, Arts, Storytelling, Wnyc, New, Remnick, News Commentary, Yorker, Politics

4.2 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Despite years of controversy, the Academy Awards and the other awards shows remain must-watch television for many Americans. The awards may be “unreliable as a pure measure of cinematic worth,” Schulman tells David Remnick. “But I would argue that the Oscars are sort of a decoder ring for cultural conflict and where the industry is headed,” Schulman says. “They are a way to understand where pop culture is.” With theatre attendance in continuing decline, the Academy is looking for solutions, Schulman believes, and that could result in a higher-grossing outlier winner for the coveted Best Picture award. Plus, a visit with the Broadway composer Charles Strouse, who is ninety-four and compiling his archives to donate to the Library of Congress. He reflects on his work with Jay-Z and his “friendly enemy” relationship with Stephen Sondheim: “He didn’t like me much. I didn’t like him less.” Still nimble at the piano, Strouse plays a rendition of his classic, “Tomorrow.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNWC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:11.4	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, I'm David Remnick.
0:14.1	The Oscars and the other award shows remain must watch television, for at least many of
0:19.4	us.
0:20.4	We watch first of all waiting for something to go horribly wrong, like the Moonlight Invalope
0:25.1	episode or Will Smith's infamous slap that was heard around the world.
0:30.9	And we watch for the pleasure of arguing about denominations and shouting at the TV when
0:35.2	the Academy picks the wrong films, again and again, Green Book, Crash, Ordinary People
0:42.4	and on and on.
0:44.0	There's of course this vast cottage industry of strategists and PR people, and Hollywood
0:51.4	has its own reasons for voting for certain things, whether they want to back a hit or an
0:57.5	actress who's been at it forever and it's her turn or what have you.
1:03.0	Michael Schillman is a staff writer with The New Yorker and his new book is called Oscar
1:07.2	Wars, A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat and Tears.
1:12.8	It's unreliable as a pure measure of cinematic worth.
1:19.4	But I would argue that the Oscars have a lot of value for another reason, which is that
1:23.9	they are sort of a decoder ring for cultural conflict and where the industry is headed,
1:31.1	like they're a way to understand where pop culture is.
1:35.7	Now, but you got interested in the Oscars way, way before you could have figured out
1:39.8	that it was a cultural decoder ring.
1:41.2	You were as a kid obsessed with the Oscars.
1:43.6	Why was that?
	...

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