Did you watch the Oscars? I didn't.
It’s awards season.
And during this season, we’re constantly bombarded by awards shows with celebrities basking in the global adulation of peers, critics and fans.
The Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammys, Golden Globes, and the Spirit Awards, are all opportunities for we little folks to ogle while the industry pays homage to the stars of the silver screen.
But how many of these shows can you really watch, before they all simply blend together and your eyes bleed?
If you’re like me, you lack the patience (or interest) for these orchestrated marathons of self-love.
You try to watch, and halfway through, they’ve got paddles to your chest trying to revive you.
But you don’t want to be the one dude at the water cooler not in the know.
Hey Stephen, did you see the Oscars?
Naw, I was, uh, man-scaping.
Man-scaping?
Nevermind.
That won’t work.
So I was very happy to come across the Hollywood Reporter Race to the Oscars app.
THR Race app that lets you track all the nominations from the convenience of your iPhone.
THR Race app links directly to The Race Blog.
So instead of sitting through 3 hours of speeches, skits and more (acceptance) speeches, I was able to periodically check in, and see who had won what.
When I downloaded the app, a few days ago, I was able to follow the THR blog and check out the nominees for the various categories.
THR's Race to the Oscars app breaks out all the categories for ya.
Each category listing included a review, trailer, news feed, the different areas in which the film was nominated and the pedigree information for each film (written by, directed by, cast, crew, etc.).
Twitter was going bonkers last night. Love all the banter between celebrities!
THR app also includes an ‘Event’ feature that let me follow the real time tweet stream from the Oscars, and get folks’ reactions to everything from Angelina Jolie’s scandalous slit in her skirt to the ‘Scorcese!’ drinking game.
People were upset that Meryl won over Viola, but somebody's got to win!
The app was so tight, that I almost felt like I actually watched the whole friggin’ thing, without losing three hours of my life glued to the tube like a zombie!
THR The Race app was designed by Fuzz Productions – who I’m going to see today – so checking out the app was more homework than anything else.
Fuzz is an interactive agency out of Brooklyn –BK in the house! – which develops web, mobile and social media apps for their clients.
Fuzz has produced innovative solutions for the likes of Jay Z, Satchi & Satchi and Sotheby’s, so I wasn’t surprised by how well the app functioned.
My brown-nosing is just shameless!
But, truth be told, I was impressed.
Now, in my opinion, this app is really only useful once a year.
But maybe the Hollywood Reporter will drop an ‘awards season’ app, that will let you follow all the awards shows, and not just the Oscars.
Anyway, if you wanted an easy way to find out who won what this year (and you don’t want to wait for recaps on TV), get the app (it’s free) and you can check them out all in one place.
You can thank me later.
Stephen Chukumba 