Let them entertain us: Reveal the Oscar voting

In today's print column for Variety, I tilt at the windmill of Oscar voting secrecy and suggest that the film academy reveal the results of the Oscar vote (as it briefly did, during the first decade of the awards). It also raises the question of how to vote when the object of your affections has no practical chance of winning or being nominated. An excerpt:

... However humbling it might be for a few, it's something to cherish for the rest. There is consolation in finishing second, third or 14th in the world at something. Moreover, there's a historical record that fans will be able to refer to for years to come.

It would be rather boring, to say the least, if each U.S. presidential election revealed only who the winner was while keeping the vote totals hidden.

At some level, doesn't everyone who has invested time in the awards process, who has been inundated with campaigning or who even just watches the kudocast, have a right to know the complete results -- or at least something more than nothing?

If AMPAS released a more detailed Oscar vote, it would be doing a service not only to history but to those underdog filmmakers whose films operate in relative obscurity. It would encourage those who find hidden gems to go all the way with their support instead of turning away when it counts. ...

Read the entire piece here. There's more in today's paper, including this reminder that the December awards don't indicate who will win with the Academy in February, as well as the following stories:

Nervous time for awards hopefuls | Awards season forget-me-nots | Bevy of contenders in animation race | 'Searching' for a documentary champion | 'Amour' than a feeling for foreign film hopefuls