Hollywood is in an uproar as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences issues new rules regarding voting eligibility.
In a press release issued on Monday, April 21, the Academy stated that “In a procedural change, Academy members must now watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round for the Oscars.”
Which is pretty funny, when you think about it.
This was the most enjoyable part of a fairly standard press release about procedural changes and submission deadlines (they’ve firmed up the guidelines for Best Achievement in Casting, you’ll be happy to know). But it does highlight some issues with the Academy, ones that often paint the venerable org as moribund and out of touch.
After a damning 2012 survey found the Academy 76% male, 94% white, and with a median age of 63, AMPAS has opened the books to attract a younger and more diverse membership. But that “old and out of touch” stink will linger for a while, not matter how many awards Anora picked up. The question is, “how many voters actually saw Anora?”
Not that I’m singling Sean Baker’s banger for special attention. It’s just a new hotness movie anointed by the old and busted Academy, and so a useful example. Accusations of favoritism and cronyism dog the Oscars wherever aggrieved film freaks gather. It’s easy to imagine back-slapping movers and shakers and bronzed and ossified Old Hollywood survivors casting their votes of reasons not connected to quality. But there’s also straight ignorance in the mix – there must be a few donkey voters in the Academy’s ranks, after all. I’ve been on a few festival juries – it beats digging ditches, but it’s still a slog at times.
But there was an unspoken rule that one should, you know, actually watch the films in contention. Or at least pretend you did. Academy voting is a bit arcane, but essentially branches vote for awards in their area (writers for Best Screenplay, directors for Best Director, and so on) but everyone votes for Best Picture. And while the Academy has asked members to recuse themselves if they hadn’t managed to catch them all, it was enforced by an honour system. So, when a deserving winner, like the aforementioned Anora, chalks up wins despite sitting well outside the norms of Oscar bait, it’s not a big leap to wonder, “Did they watch it?”
That’s not the film’s fault. It’s a systemic issue, and one they seem keen to address. Going forward, the Academy will be tracking their viewing, Letterboxd-style. In order to e-vote, members will have to either log a view on the Academy Screening Room platform, or submit paperwork detailing the where and when of their viewing. We feel sorry for whatever great-grandchild is currently tasked with Clint Eastwood’s tech support.
What impact this will have on voting patterns is hard to say. Maybe there’ll be no discernible effect, the Oscars having been running true all this time. Or perhaps we’ll get a really funny lesson about running an honour system in Hollywood for a hundred years.
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