The times, they are a-changin'! Academy drops new rules (and categories!) for 2025 Oscars
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approved new awards rules and a few new categories ahead of the 98th Oscars ceremony.
Among the notable changes:
- Voting members are now required to view all nominated films within a category to be eligible to vote in the final round.
- All designated nominees in each category will now appear on the final ballot.
- A new award will be presented for Achievement in Casting.
- Generative AI or other digital tools will neither help nor hinder a film’s chances of being nominated.
- Animated Short Film nominations voting will now be open to all Academy members who opt in and watch all 15 shortlisted films.
- International Feature Film eligibility has been expanded to include filmmakers with refugee or asylum status.
- Music categories now have earlier submission deadlines: Oct. 15 for original song and Nov. 3 for original score.
Exciting to see the Academy shake things up!
To see more changes, including rules and key dates, check out this great article in Variety:
The Oscars are set to take place on March 15, 2026. We'll be watching!
Comments
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So great to see casting officially recognised by the Academy! It's such an integral part of the creative process and can really make or break a film.
I gotta say I was surprised that members weren't already required to watch all films before voting!
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It's insane to me that before this, academy members were never required to watch all of the nominated films. That seems like a bare minimum requirement. I'm curious though how they plan to enforce that, like do you take a quiz on each nominated film to prove you saw it?
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Totally agree! You never know what you're missing if you don't watch ALL the films 😅
According to the article, the Academy will monitor viewing activity through its screening streaming platform. For films viewed outside the platform, members will have to submit a form indicating when and where they watched the film. Hopefully they can keep it all straight!
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