Oscar viewer ratings slump by 16 per cent

Also, the Academy explains Joan Rivers' snub, Hawking praises Redmayne and Poland rejoices over Ida's victory.

Host Neil Patrick Harris onstage during the 87th Annual Academy Awards. Kevin Winter / Getty Images / AFP

TV ratings for the Oscars’ US broadcast fell by 16 per cent from last year, amid lukewarm reviews and criticism of first-time host Neil Patrick Harris. Sunday night’s show averaged 36.6 million viewers, down from 43.7 million in 2014, according to Nielsen ratings reported by industry journal Variety. It was the lowest audience in six years. Some blamed the relative lack of mass-appeal movies among those nominated, while others said the predictability of the winners didn’t help. Harris had a tough act to follow – last year’s host Ellen DeGeneres powered the show to a 10-year ratings high. But while there was praise for his opening song-and-dance number, critics were scathing about much of the rest of Harris’s stewardship of the three-and-a-half hour show. – AFP

Academy explains joan Rivers ‘snub’

Following complaints about the failure to include Joan Rivers in its “In Memoriam” tribute during the Oscars ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences explained its decision on Monday. “Joan Rivers is among the many worthy artists and filmmakers we were unfortunately unable to feature in the In Memoriam segment of this year’s Oscar show. She is, however, included in our In Memoriam gallery on Oscar.com.” Among those who complained was the star’s Fashion Police co-host, Giuliana Rancic. Elaine Stritch was another notable omission, though her career was mostly built on stage. – AP

Winner promised lifetime supply of free doughnuts

As if winning an Oscar was not enough, British director Mat Kirkby has also been promised free doughnuts for life after mentioning a small UK bakery during his acceptance speech on Sunday. As he accepted the award for Best Live Action Short Film for The Phone Call, starring Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent, Kirkby said: "I'm particularly happy because this now means I can get a free doughnut at my local bakery, the Pump Street Bakery. They do fantastic doughnuts." The bakery, which opened in 2010, is in Orford in Suffolk, close to where Kirkby lives. Owner Joanna Brennan told the BBC: "I was … not expecting to wake up to a mention, so it was very exciting. I think an Oscar win deserves more than one free coffee or doughnut, so we're definitely going to be giving him free doughnuts for good now, as a thank you for the mention." – The National staff

Hawking ‘proud’ of Redmayne

Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has congratulated the British actor Eddie Redmayne, who won Best Actor for portraying him in the film The Theory of Everything. "Well done Eddie, I'm very proud of you," said the academic who suffers from motor neuron disease, in a Facebook post. "Congratulations to Eddie Redmayne for winning an Oscar for playing me," he said. When the film came out last year, Hawking said of the performance: "At times I thought it was me." Redmayne, 33, dedicated his Oscar to people suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and thanked the Hawking family. – AFP

Poland rejoices in Ida’s victory

Poland on Monday celebrated the film Ida winning the country's first Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, seeing it as a sign of the country's film industry coming of age. President Bronislaw Komorowski said the award was a "source of satisfaction for all Poles" and proof that democratic Poland was becoming an increasingly attractive country, with "valuable things to offer to the world". Ida, which was directed by the Polish-British director Pawel Pawlikowski, was screened during the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2013.– AP