The Oscars have spent years trying to figure out how to modernize its awards show and appeal to a wider audience. More Best Picture nominees? Less Best Picture nominees? Fewer awards? More musical numbers? Multiple hosts? Hosts who aren’t comedians? No hosts at all? No matter what they’ve tried, the annual telecast’s ratings have continued to slip.

One producer believes he knows the reason the Academy Awards are struggling, and he has filed a suit against the Academy over it. According to a report in The New York Times, Michael Shamberg claims the governing body behind the Oscars “did not adhere to its rules when its 54-member board declined to vote on bylaw amendments” he proposed. The subject of those bylaw amdendments: “A greater focus on engaging movie buffs through social media.”

That’s right. Shamberg is suing the Oscars because he thinks they need to improve their Twitter feed. The Times quotes more from a Shamberg email:

‘It is the academy’s stubborn refusal to engage the audience on social media that dooms the Oscars to a has-been awards show,’ he wrote in a June 30 email to the board. ‘None of you filmmakers, publicists or studio executives would approve a digital marketing campaign for one of your movies that is as bland and all over the map as academy posts.’

Shamberg told the Times he thinks the Academy “is being run into the ground.” The Academy didn’t offer a comment, but the Times quoted from their lawyer’s statement that said, in essence, that just because they didn’t enact Shamberg’s suggestions didn’t mean that they didn’t consider them (or that they had to).

Maybe I’m bland myself, but I follow @TheAcademy on Twitter and like most of what they post. There’s some good pictures, some good discussion prompts. They could probably use more clips from interesting Oscar moments; vintage videos of great and/or weird highlights. Personally, I’m not sure more dank memes would lead to a surge in ratings for the Academy Awards.

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