in subsequent years, american film reviewer david andsen, who wrote for newsweek, joined barry to commentn the oscars for the bbc. the biggest voting branch in the academy as actors. this veteran hollywood—based film critic and film festival programmer is still thriving. he remembers the 1950s when the oscars were a much larger cultural phenomenon reflecting perhaps america's superpower status. the big stars would all be there — the elizabeth taylors and kurt douglases and burt lancasters, and they would get enormous ratings in those days. hollywood had become the world's great empire and they were making movies that were big and...you know, on great themes, the ten commandments... ..around the world in 80 days. in some ways, it was a kind of a flattering self—portrait! because america was the new global empire. and the oscars reflected that? and the oscars reflected that. in the heyday of the academy awards, the oscars had such currency because it was one of the few windows giving movie fans the opportunity to gawk at their idols. there wasn't so much access to celebrity that you weren't