Oscars host Jonathan Ross shares scathing criticism of awards season

Jonathan Ross has shared scathing criticism of awards season, saying that events like the Baftas and Oscars don't reward films that deserve to receive it.

The talk show host is set to present the Oscars coverage for ITV in March, but even though he has the hosting gig Ross wasn't afraid to share his honest opinion when reflecting on it while speaking with his daughter Honey for their podcast Reel Talk with Honey & Jonathan Ross.

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Ross said that he has stopped voting at the Baftas because he feels awards shows focus on films "being rewarded for the wrong reason", and that those that tend to win aren't "satisfactory" or representative of what is popular with the general public.

He said: "I’ve been preparing for it by trying to overcome my kind of instinctive dislike for award shows. I’ve come to the conclusion after many years, and you know I used to vote on Bafta… I’ve stopped [voting] because I was tired of seeing movies again and again which I thought were being rewarded for the wrong reason.

"They weren’t popular with audiences and I didn’t think many of them necessarily were even satisfactory, personally, and I know that’s a subjective opinion."

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Ross went on to say that he felt the Baftas and the Oscars are "the worst two examples of this", adding: "Movies get rewarded because people want to seem like they like intelligent movies or meaningful movies, and a lot or people do and there’s absolutely a place for them, but I often think they are not a reflection of what’s popular and necessarily good."

Ross went on to clarify that he isn't "down on serious movies" in general, saying: "I remember when Halle Berry won for Monsters Ball and I thought that was such a tremendous performance by her in a grim film... I was really pleased for her partly because I think she deserved it and partly because she had been someone who had been, like a lot of movie stars of that period, side-lined as ‘pretty girl’."

"And then suddenly she got her chance to get her teeth into something more substantial and she bit on that bone and she ran with it."

Despite his criticism, Ross admitted that he does "kind of love the Oscars" as an event, because he enjoys seeing the stars come dressed to impress and the act of giving awards. He went on: "It’s weird, I have a kind of love/hate relationship with it so I intend to be honest on the night."

Listen to ‘Reel Talk’ with Honey and Jonathan Ross, new episodes every Monday, on Global Player. The Oscars will be live-streamed on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 10th March, at 10.30pm.

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