Academy President Sherak Wants Viewers Involved

By April Baker — 02/25/12
Who can forget Halle Berry’s emotional acceptance speech when she won an Oscar for “Best Actress” in 2009?
Berry cried and incredulously clutched the golden statuette while she addressed the celebrity-studded audience, “This moment… so much bigger than me.”
Academy President Thomas Sherak fondly remembers times like these, and he believes it is emotionally-charged moments like Berry’s that make the Academy Awards so memorable and special to viewers at the show, as well as at-home viewers.
Each year, Sherak hopes that statuette winners will “speak from their heart” instead of reading names off of a list.
The raw emotions that actors, actresses, and others in the film industry convey is an impromptu ingredient that makes this live show unpredictable, yet nationally and internationally appealing.
And there is an elusive quality that Sherak wants to be in this year’s show.
“We want the audience to feel like although it’s an Academy Awards show, they’re watching something that they really can relate to.”