In order to see what audiences think of the Academy Awards, we decided the best course of action was to reach out to our friends, families, co-workers, and more to get their opinions on the Oscar race this year. While general audiences have no overlap with Academy membership, it’s nice to get some clarity where some people outside the #FilmTwitter space are landing on the films in contention and the Oscars overall.

Our latest Audience Audit comes from Marie out of Los Angeles. She’s in her mid-thirties and a Visual Manager for an LA based clothing company. We asked Marie about her thoughts on the Oscars telecast, Best Picture contenders and more!

Offscreen Central:  Do you watch the Oscars each year?
Marie: As far as I can remember, no. But I did last year!

Offscreen Central:  Does it make a difference to you who the host of the Oscars is?
Marie: Not really, but I think we can all take a break from Jimmy Kimmel next year. The telecast absolutely needs a host though.

Offscreen Central:  How long do you think the Oscars telecast is? If it was under 2 hours, would you watch the entire telecast?
Marie: I think it’s 3 hours including all the commercials? Under 2 hours is a reasonable amount of time, same amount of time I would cap for a movie, to be honest.

Offscreen Central:  Of the Best Picture nominees for the year, which have you seen?
Marie: I’ve seen Barbie, Past Lives, and The Zone of Interest.

Offscreen Central:  For the films you haven’t seen, are you interested in seeing them now that they have received a Best Picture nomination? 
Marie: Not necessarily, but there are a few movies, including Anatomy of a Fall and Poor Things that are on my next watch list.

Offscreen Central:  How would you rank the nominees you have seen?
Marie: 1 – The Zone of Interest, 2 – Past Lives, 3 – Barbie

Offscreen Central:  What criteria do you think goes into nominating a film for Best Picture? 
Marie: I think most of the Oscar categories goes into nominating a film for Best Picture. The overall acting, sound, direction, production etc.

Offscreen Central:  Do you have an idea of who is a frontrunner to win an acting Oscar?
Marie: Without looking at the nominations and based on how big of a movie it was last year, Cillian Murphy?

Offscreen Central:  Do you have people that you would prefer to see win an acting Oscar this year?
Marie: Leonardo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt. Every. Year. No. Matter. What. With. or. Without. a Movie. 

Offscreen Central:  Aside from Best Picture and the acting categories, which awards do you care about most? 
Marie: Sound, production design, costume design, adapted screenplay.

Offscreen Central:  How often did you go to the movie theater this past year?
Marie: I believe I went four times.

Offscreen Central:  What are some of your favorite movies that came out in 2023? 
Marie: Past Lives, The Zone of Interest, May December, and Fair Play.

Offscreen Central:  There was some controversy surrounding Greta Gerwig not being nominated for Best Director, did you hear about this? Do you have any thoughts on this?
Marie: She directed one of the biggest films in 2023, head to head with Chris Nolan. He was nominated and she wasn’t… ?

Offscreen Central:  How do you hear about upcoming films usually?
Marie: Through you, Kenzie.

Offscreen Central:  The Academy announced a new category for Achievement in Casting, which we are still waiting for more details on, but will first be awarded at the 2026 Telecast. Do you think this is a good addition?
Marie: I think so, casting is a difficult job. I imagine it’s a lot of pressure. They deserve to be recognized.