Petty controversy: The Oscars diss the Muppets
It's an odd year for the Oscars' Best Original Song category. Thanks to the Academy's ever-changing and increasingly labyrinthine rules, only two songs earned nominations. At first, critics weren't too troubled by the abbreviated list, since it included the comically existential Muppets ballad "Man or Muppet," written by Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie and performed by Jason Segel and Walter the Muppet.
But alas, producers are planning to scrap the Best Original Song performances to shave precious minutes off the perennially overlong broadcast. Early reaction is fierce: Judd Apatow, Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, and an incensed legion of bloggers are loudly protesting the thought of an Oscar ceremony sans singing Muppets.
The fallout and video of the Muppets, at The Week.
