Peter Gabriel Won't Perform 'Wall-E' Tune at Oscars

It was about 24 hours ago that we wrote about the new direction the Oscars were headed in, thanks to producers Bill Condon and Laurence Mark. Among the new items on the menu: No comedian hosting the show (it's Hugh Jackman), the rather childish game of keeping the presenters a secret so people will be forced to watch in order to discover who's on the stage at any given point (which also means a limit on the number of red carpet walkers), and a showcase of 2009 movies at the end of the telecast rather than a recap of 2008. And one day later, there's more fallout because of the rather unnecessary facelift Condon and Mark are performing on the Academy Awards. Peter Gabriel, nominated for Best Song, has walked away from the chance at performing, saying he doesn't feel any of the songs in the running are being given enough respect. Deadline Hollywood Daily has obtained a letter from Gabriel in which he describes his reasons for pulling out of the show. The issue is that, even though there are three nominees, Gabriel's song from Wall-E and the two A.R. Rahman songs from Slumdog Millionaire will be turned into a medley. Terrible idea. Terrible. What's worse, Gabriel says he's barely getting a minute of performance time during the ill-conceived medley.

"I was delighted when 'Down to Earth' was nominated for an Oscar. I was also pleased to have been asked to perform the song in the Oscar ceremony. However, in recent discussions with the Producers, it became clear that despite there being only three nominees, only 60-65 seconds was being offered, and that was also in a medley of the three songs. I don't feel that is sufficient time to do the song justice, and have decided to withdraw from performing." "I fully respect and look forward to the Producers' right to revamp the show. Even though song writers are small players in the film making process, they are just as committed and work just as hard as the rest of the team and I regret that this new version of the ceremony is being created, in part, at their expense." "I still very much look forward to attending the ceremony."

Condon and Mark are trying to keep the show around three hours long, which will be quite a feat, since they're essentially looking to shave an hour off the telecast. But the problem isn't the presentation of stuff within the Oscars. It's been watched by tens of millions of people every year for decades. Nobody is saying, "Get rid of the comedians" or "Just give us a medley like a Broadway revue." The most recent World Series was easily the lowest rated ever. For the first time, not a single game in the series got a rating of 10 or more. But it's not because people suddenly wanted the format of baseball to change. It was because nobody cared about the games. It was Tampa and Philly. They aren't two teams with nationwide fanbases, like the Yankees, Sox, Dodgers, or Cubs. So nobody watched. And the reason last year's Oscars got low ratings is because of the nominated films. They just weren't that popular. Some would say that's a problem this year, too, because The Dark Knight isn't up for Best Picture. If that's true, it doesn't matter if you destroy three great songs or have a shorter show. However, I'd say that some of the best moments at the Oscars is the performances of the nominated songs, and just think of what they could do with Slumdog in that category. That would be the highlight of the night. As it is, the only thing that could help, oddly enough, is announcing from the highest mountaintop you could find exactly who will be on the show. Keeping that a secret is moronic. And it'll backfire. Just like all the rest of these decisions.

Comments

[Will]

Looks like the Academy is wasting Mr. Gabriel's time. Any word on who might replace him?

[Rascal Flatts]

We are still available!

[MRPigg]

I think they should just have Robin Willams and the Three Six Mafia do the medley.

[Will]

Any Academy Awards with Three Six Mafia is greatly improved, if you ask me.

[JSP]

It really is a shame. Most the time the Oscars (which i watch faithfully every year - don't ask me why!) have some really shit movies up. This year's selections are surprisingly good, but apparently everybody is still fixated on the Dark Knight - good movie, yes, but there are others out, which, frankly are even a bit better than Knight. I was definitely looking forward to seeing full-length performances of the songs (since there's only the three!) They'd save a lot of time by cutting some of the montages instead, that's what drags the show out so interminably.

I think we all remember the "awards in the aisles" debacle of a few years ago....

[Greg]

I heard Rob Lowe is taking over for Gabriel, while Snow White and Corey Feldman are dancing in the Slumdog number...

[Anybody]

Who cares, the best song of the year didn't even get nominated...

[Wall E]

May be narrow minded Peter Gabriel doesn't know, how much A R Rahman respects and appreciates him. May be Peter can't tolerate seeing A R Rahman winning the Oscars. I feel sorry for you Peter. Cheer up mate!!! Let me bless with more shocking news in the future!