Coronavirus Prompts Big Changes for Streaming Films' Oscar Chances

Citing the coronavirus pandemic's profound impact on Hollywood, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new rules on Tuesday for the 93rd Academy Awards that will allow movies that debuted on digital or streaming platforms to qualify for Best Picture. There are catches, however, the foremost being that this is an exception made for this year's Oscars race only and not in perpetuity. The Academy's current rules require a film to be shown in a commercial movie theater in L.A. County "for a theatrical qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days, during which period screenings must occur at least three times daily." Going forward, but for only the 93rd Oscars, films that were previously planned for theatrical release but are initially made available on a commercial streaming or VOD service may qualify in the Best Picture, general entry and specialty categories for the 93rd Academy Awards. There are provisions, though. The Academy dictates:

• The film must be made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member-only streaming site within 60 days of the film’s streaming or VOD release;
• The film must meet all other eligibility requirements.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] The Academy also says that when theaters reopen in accordance with legally specified guidelines and criteria, and on a date to be determined by the Academy, those rule exemptions will no longer apply and all films released thereafter must comply with the Academy's previous standard theatrical qualifying requirements. And when theaters do reopen, the Academy will expand the metropolitan areas for qualifying theatrical runs to also include the City of New York; the Bay Area; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; and Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, Netflix titles such as Roma, The Irishman, and Marriage Story all had to have qualifying limited theatrical runs before debuting on streaming in order to be considered for Best Picture. This is obviously an unprecedented move on the part of the Academy given the nationwide closure of cinemas due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent delays in studios' being able to release their films theatrically. Several studios, including Universal and Warner Bros., have opted to release some of their titles that had been meant for theatrical release straight to VOD now instead. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/3bM5hoL] The Academy's Board of Governors also announced the following rules changes in the categories of Sound, Music and International Feature Film:

• The two Sound categories, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, have been combined into one award for best achievement in Sound that emphasizes the team effort. The number of Oscar® statuettes remains the same; up to six statuettes may be awarded. Eligible recipients may include one production sound mixer, two supervising sound editors and three rerecording mixers.
• In the Music (Original Score) category, for a score to be eligible, it must comprise a minimum of 60% original music. Additionally, for sequels and franchise films, a score must have a minimum of 80% new music.
• In a procedural change in the International Feature Film category, all eligible Academy members will now be invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting. For the first time, film submissions will be made available through the Academy Screening Room streaming platform to those members who opt-in. These members of the International Feature Film Preliminary Voting committee must meet a minimum viewing requirement in order to be eligible to vote in the category.

What do you think of these Oscar rules changes? Let us know in the comments.

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