Yesterday, the Oscars announced a new rule stating that from now on, members must be required to watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round of Oscar voting. To film buffs surprise, this means that until now, they were merely encouraged to watch the films and vote in categories they felt qualified in.
The ruling comes off the heels of anonymous Academy Awards ballots which saw members confess not having got around to watching some of the films or finishing the longer ones. The revelation has, unsurprisingly, sparked frustration among film fans, with a litany of memes mocking the voting process (tbf, it's mad that a high school English exam requires more prep than literally voting in the Oscars.)
Another moment of controversy came with the Academy’s ruling on AI. Following ructions after it was revealed that AI was used to enhance the actor’s Hungarian accents in The Brutalist, the Academy (divisively) doubled down, ruling that “ the use of generative artificial intelligence tools “neither help nor harm the chances of a nomination.”
On a positive note, after longstanding pressure, the academy will now allow filmmakers with refugee or asylum status to be represented by a country not their own in the best international film category. This will mean authoritarian leaders will be less able to block films disagreeing with their regime from entering the competition, as directors can submit their films from another country.
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