There has been significant backlash following the Academy’s introduction of a new rule requiring its members to watch every film up for nomination before casting their votes.
It might seem obvious that watching a film before assessing its worth for an award should be standard practice, but this has not been the case, as many movie enthusiasts have recently discovered.
Some have speculated that this oversight may explain some surprising Oscar omissions over the years. A recent example includes Demi Moore missing out on the Best Actress accolade for her performance in The Substance.
On Monday, April 21, the respected Academy announced several updates to its awards process.
These updates include the addition of a new casting award, regulations concerning AI, and modifications to the submission process for refugee filmmakers.
The Academy boasts over 10,500 members, described on its website as ‘the most accomplished film industry artists and leaders.’
Active members have the opportunity to vote across all 23 categories, soon to be 24, which includes the prestigious Best Picture award.
In the past, members were encouraged to watch as many films as possible, the Academy noted, ‘and only vote for the films that they have actually seen.’
Members were not required to vote in every category and had the option to abstain if they felt unqualified in certain areas.
Moving forward, however, ‘Academy members must now watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round for the Oscars.’
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in February, an anonymous director admitted they had not watched three of the films nominated for Best Picture earlier this year and were unwilling to watch Dune 2.
“I’m bummed because I haven’t seen The Substance or I’m Still Here yet,” they mentioned. “The first Dune, I couldn’t get through; I’m not rushing for another three hours of Dune.”
They also mentioned they were contemplating abstaining from voting in some categories.
The Academy’s new movie-watching requirement quickly gained attention on social media, sparking a massive reaction from Twitter users.
“They weren’t doing that before!!??” wrote one astonished user, while another queried: “Were they just voting on vibes??”
A third commented, “This should have been the rule from the start. How do you vote on winners without even watching all the films?”
In agreement, a fourth user stated: “It’s wild that this even needs to be said. How are you making career-defining decisions without doing the *bare minimum* of watching all the nominees?”
Another added, “I understand how movies get snubbed now…”
However, one person was quick to note: “Why do you think the producers campaign to get their film watched? Like did you think every member was watching 50+ films.”
Evidently, the Academy is implementing stringent measures to ensure compliance with the new rule.
According to Variety, members’ viewing habits will be monitored via the Academy’s members-only streaming platform.
Should films be watched elsewhere, for instance at festivals, members must fill out ‘a form indicating when and where they watched the film.’
This verification process is now mandatory for all movie categories, expanding from its previous application to international and animated features.
The Academy also addressed the issue of ‘generative’ AI, concluding that the use of such tools ‘neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.’
Instead, emphasis will be placed on ‘the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship’ when deliberating on which movie to honor.