Michel Cieply has an interesting piece up today about the process of “pay to play,” or which studio plans to underwrite the song segments for the Oscars telecast.
But that’s OK, because not everyone in and around Fox Searchlight, which is distributing “Slumdog Millionaire” in the U. S., is eager to pay for a dual performance that would benefit owners of the soundtrack rights and worldwide film distributors as much as or more than Fox. On top of which, some in the Fox camp have figured out that Disney, at least, would be shoveling money in the direction of another Disney unit, ABC, which broadcasts the Oscars.
This has to do with, I think, production costs and ultimately potential profits from the recording. It’s clear to me that a major financial opportunity was missed when Bruce Springsteen was snubbed. Talk about strangling the golden goose.