Oscars: Judges find loophole to avoid new mandatory viewing rule
The new Oscars rules require judges to watch every film in a category; judges are already exploiting new loopholes to reject the ruling and avoid watching each project.
On April 22nd, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a slate of new rules and promotional regulations that will take effect for next year’s 98th Oscars. However, this is based on an honour system alone.
The official system means judges must either play the film through the member-exclusive streaming service ‘Academy Screening Room’ or see the film at a cinema or festival and fill out forms verifying their attendance details.
This has been called ‘The Brutalist Rule‘ as a nod to Brady Corbet’s 215-minute extravaganza, so long that it had an intermission halfway after many voters admitted they never saw the movie.
The sentiment has continued despite the new ruling. One insider commented to Variety that the official watch app “only needs to see that you watched it. It doesn’t know if you’re sitting there.” Already, some voters are reportedly admitting to leaving the screen to stream the film while they do other things, such as attending gym classes.
Another feature available on the app is the ability to stream films at 1.5x speed. There is no penalty for watching a title in this way, nor is there any penalty for pledging you’ve watched it even if you haven’t.
The new parameters also clarified the organising body’s stance on AI. It said that if generative technology is used in producing a film, it would “neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.” However, the organising body added that human involvement would still be considered when deciding which films would win its awards.
As the rules have been finalised, this is unlikely to change in the near future.
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