Millions of Americans tune in annually to watch the Oscar presentations. It’s often one of the most-watched shows of the year. Well, at least it used to be. With so many movies available on streaming platforms and with acceptance speeches including lines such as, “Let me tell you what’s wrong with this country,” viewership is dwindling. But Oscar night remains Hollywood’s biggest bash of the year, and the glamour is still on full red-carpet display.

Of course, the major award categories are Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. But there are about 20 more Oscar statues that are given out too. Winners are also announced for original screenplay, adapting a screenplay from another source, cinematography, production design, editing, original score and song, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, etc. (Just as an aside, Tinseltown folklore has it that when the awards were first being handed out in the late 1920s, someone said the statue looked like their Uncle Oscar, and the name stuck. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a movie made out of that story. Perhaps Uncle Oscar would win a posthumous Oscar.)

Every year there are surprises, with “sure-fire” winners exiting the theatre empty-handed and dark-horse movies suddenly catapulted to fame. Usually, if you look closely, you can see much gnashing of teeth behind the forced smiles of the odds-on favorites as they gamely applaud their surprised competition who climb the stairs to grab the prize.

I’m mentioning all this now, several weeks before the Oscars are televised, because I think there needs to be at least one more category added to the mix. And that would be Best Political Drama. This year, in particular, there are two solid leading contenders: Donald Trump and Hunter Biden.

No one has to be told about what’s going on in the former President’s life of late. Multiple indictments, multiple courtroom appearances, multiple denials, and multiple law firms billing multiple hours every day. Plus, he’s running to reclaim the White House. It’s really hard to keep up with the entire cast of characters, but there’s no doubt as to who has the leading role.

Hunter Biden isn’t running for President, but he could be running to or from something. Whatever the case, he’s managing to appear in the media almost as much as The Donald. The biggest difference between the two stories might well be that Trump is pretty much carrying his show by himself, while Hunter definitely has a prominent supporting cast member who could possibly end up overshadowing him.

The Trump Show tends to rely heavily on the former President standing in front of a bank of microphones outside of courthouses suggesting with very combative words that virtually everything being thrown at him is part of a political witch hunt. Occasionally, there will be video footage from inside a courtroom. Most of these insider views are met with an intense don’t- mess-with-me scowl on the star’s face.

Hunter, on the other hand, looks to be relying more on the grandstand style of theater. Just recently, he and his cadre of attorneys decided to pay an unannounced visit to a U.S. House of Representatives Committee session. He had been subpoenaed to be there at another time but had refused the invitation. Instead, he sat stoically until such time as a certain well-known firebrand Congressional Representative from Georgia began speaking. Hunter and his legal team then made a dramatic exit stage left. It all made for high drama and “must see” TV.

There is a rumor afloat that Hunter’s appearance at and disappearance from the Committee’s hearing room was all being filmed as part of a self-produced documentary about him, which would lend itself nicely to my newly-proposed Best Political Drama Oscar category. There hasn’t been any mention of a similar Trump salute in the works but given the millions of feet of footage of him over his lifetime, no doubt something could be quickly edited and produced.

Of course, the winner of this suggested category at the Oscars would probably be a foregone conclusion. There don’t seem to be a whole lot of voting Academy members who would consider themselves Trump supporters. But it is a secret ballot. And, after all, Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan, The English Patient beat Fargo, and it took forever for director Martin Scorsese to win a statue, among other “Are you kidding me?” results.

Alas, chances of a new category this year are probably slim to none. But wouldn’t it be fun to see all the reactions from everyone in the room if Trump actually won an Oscar? Talk about high drama.

©MMXXIV. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer