Edward Jay Epstein

Edward Jay Epstein (born 1935) is an American investigative journalist and a former political science professor at Harvard, UCLA and MIT. Epstein has published a number of influential books, including Inquest – an investigative critique of the Warren Commission. In 2010, Epstein published another influential book, The Hollywood Economist, in which he investigates “the hidden financial reality behind the movies”. In this book, Epstein analyses Hollywood films in general, including The Academy Awards, and today he is seen as somewhat of an “Oscar expert”.

The Oscar Deception

FEATURE. The Academy Awards celebrate the American film industry – Hollywood, as it were – and the show has widely become known as “Hollywood’s holiest night” or even a show of overt “self-congratulation”. The “best” productions – those who come away with the Oscars – have a story to tell of Hollywood and of the Hollywood economy. According to film critic and Oscar expert Edward Jay Epstein, this story, however, is different from what we might expect. Oscar, says Epstein, is an illusion or even a deception.