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For long-time followers of the Academy Awards, it's a familiar annual occurrence to see media outlets interview anonymous Academy members about their views on nominated films and their voting choices. However, these members often admit to being too busy to watch the films, or they harbor deep biases against certain genres or actors, leading them to vote randomly without even viewing the contenders. This practice has, in some ways, severely undermined the Oscars' authority, as even professional filmmakers have demonstrated an unprofessional approach to voting.
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Now, the Academy appears poised to finally curb this long-standing issue. They announced today that starting with next year's 98th Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled for March 15, every voting member will be required to prove they have actually watched all nominated works within a given category to cast their ballot in the final round. The Academy, however, did not elaborate on the specific method of proof.
For the Best Animated Short Film category, the Academy's new rule sets a slightly different standard: members must view all 15 films on the shortlist to vote, differing from other categories where only the actual nominated works are required.
Addressing prior industry and public concerns regarding the potential impact of AI technology on fairness, the Academy also ruled today that AI itself will neither aid nor hinder a film's chances of nomination. Instead, they will assess the core extent of human creative choices within each work. Furthermore, for the Best International Feature category, the Academy established a new regulation: submitting countries must confirm that creative control of the film is primarily held by citizens, residents, refugees, or asylum seekers of the submitting country.