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As Oscar season approaches, some media outlets typically interview anonymous Academy members with voting rights, asking them to share their opinions on the nominated films and their voting intentions. This year, however, Deadline has learned that voter turnout is lower than usual. The Academy's new voting system, implemented to strictly verify that voters have actually watched the nominated films, has proven challenging for many members to adapt to. The increased complexity of the process has reportedly dampened some members' willingness to cast their ballots.
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Additionally, Deadline's interviews revealed that some members abstained from voting because they hadn't seen enough of the nominated works and didn't want to vote only for the films they had watched. Others admitted they simply didn't have time to see certain movies, with "Hamnet" being frequently cited as one they missed. One Oscar-nominated member, however, expressed a more fundamental dissatisfaction, feeling that the quality of nominated films in recent years has been subpar, leading him to forgo voting entirely.
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This member directly emailed the editor of the Deadline report, stating, "I haven't seen half of the nominated films, nor do I want to. My time is too precious to waste on movies I know I'll never vote for (let alone finish). Most of the nominated films I've seen so far are mediocre, and the films I originally nominated didn't make the cut. So, since I don't want to lie, I've decided not to vote this year."
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He continued, "Yes, I'd love to vote for a particular film I was enthusiastic about, but I'm certainly not going to watch four other films that I know won't be as good. Honestly, the Oscars have become irrelevant. 'Enola Holmes'? 'CODA'? 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'? Which three of those will audiences still want to watch five years from now, compared to 'The Godfather,' 'Lawrence of Arabia,' or 'Patton'? What matters is the film itself, not the awards. Instead of watching the awards ceremony, I'd rather watch 'Singin' in the Rain,' 'North by Northwest,' or 'The Searchers'—those are truly deserving Best Pictures, yet they didn't even get nominated in their day."
via： Deadline