Oscar Producer Wants Short Speeches

The Associated Press

Winning an Academy Award: priceless. Giving a really short speech when accepting that award: Worth a $2,500 television.

In an effort to contain Oscar winners' ramblings, producer Gil Cates is offering a high-definition TV set to the tersest person at Sunday's ceremony.

"I've tried to be charming and humorous," Cates told nominees at the traditional pre-Oscar lunch. "I've tried persuasion and bribery. It all comes down to my belief that brevity is next to godliness."

He showed clips of past Oscar speeches as an illustration, including Alfred Hitchcock's memorably brief "Thank you" when he received the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg award in 1967.

Nominees including Jeff Bridges ("The Contender") and Geoffrey Rush ("Quills") greeted the prize offer with laughter and bemused looks.

The television is Cates' latest ploy in the fight against winners who recite laundry lists of names instead of celebrating the joy of the moment in their allotted 45 seconds.

"No one wants to know about your makeup man and your hairdresser and that stuff," Cates said in an interview. "You make three people happy and you send a half-million (viewers) to the refrigerator."

This year, winners will be able to post unlimited expressions of gratitude on the official Oscar Web site.

Cates is under pressure to keep the show airing on ABC to the three hours between 8-11 p.m. EST; after that, ratings begin to slip.

It's a mark the Oscar ceremony rarely hits, however, and inflation has increasingly set in. The 1999 and 2000 broadcasts edged over four hours each, making them the longest ever.

Brevity alone isn't the point, Cates insists.

"It's not in the service of making a shorter show, really, it's making a better show and a more interesting show," he said. "When people talk about what the Oscar means to them, about what really touches their heart, it's wonderful to hear those acceptance speeches."

His favorite moments include the then 11-year-old Anna Paquin nearly hyperventilating as she clutched her 1994 supporting actress award for "The Piano" ("adorable," Cates said) and Roberto Benigni's acrobatics as he vaulted over audience members to collect his actor trophy for "Life is Beautiful" in 1999.

Kevin O'Connell, a 14-time nominee for sound who has yet to collect an Oscar, said he would be reluctant to cut short his speech. He's nominated this year with Greg Russell for "The Patriot."

"After 14 attempts at this, there are several people that I think would rather hear me thank them then come over to my house and see my new television set," O'Connell said good-naturedly.

After nine previous turns at producing the Oscars and despite the challenges, Cates remains enamored of the assignment. In his spare time, he's a film producer and teacher.

"I love the show. To paraphrase Orson Welles when asked about directing a film, it's the best electric train a kid could ever get," Cates said.

The variety of the best picture nominees are a plus for the ceremony, the producer said, and the performances of the nominated songs will be a highlight.

"The artists are amazing," Cates said, including Sting, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Bjork and CoCo Lee.

While the best-song performances are popular, the reaction to dance production numbers has been mixed. Cates gamely defends the Oscar night hoofing.

"Dance is loved in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Most people, when I get outside the city, like a little dance. There will be a little dance."

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