Publicist Plea: Keep Oscar Speeches Short

If a Los Angeles-based publicist has his way, this year's Oscar ceremony will be a whole lot shorter.

Howard Bragman, who is the chairman of the public relations firm Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, published an open letter to all potential Oscar winners in today's Los Angeles Times, urging recipients keep their speeches to a bare minimum.

"Is there anything more boring than hearing one of your otherwise talented fellow actors reading off a long list of names from a crumpled piece of paper in bad light without reading glasses on network television? I think not," Bragman wrote.

In the opinion piece, Bragman gives pointers to all potential winners, especially actors. He claimed it's advice they will not hear from anybody else.

"Trust me: Your best friend, your agent, your manager, and your publicist certainly aren't going to tell you the truth (they all want to hear their names read in front of 1 billion people from the stage of the Kodak Theater)," Bragman added.

We'll find out if anybody has heeded Bragman's advice March 24, when the Oscars are presented in Hollywood, Calif.

For those keeping track, the longest Oscar acceptance speech on record lasted for five minutes, 30 seconds, made at the 1942 Academy Awards by Greer Garson, who was voted best actress for her role in "Mrs. Miniver."