The Academy’s Board of Governors held its first formal meeting following the 91st Oscars and the much ballyhooed “Netflix vs. Speilberg” showdown did not come to pass. Not only was the influential filmmaker never expected to be at the function, but there was also a conveniently timed New York Times story published on the same day that effectively spun that his concerns over streaming services’ films and their Oscar qualifications were grossly exaggerated. In the end, there was no raucous debate and the board voted to keep the status quo, and frankly, there was nothing to seriously change anyway.
READ MORE: New Rules – Oscar Edition for the 2020 season
The Academy’s Rule Two states that to be eligible for awards consideration, a film must have a minimum seven-day theatrical run in a Los Angeles County commercial theater including a minimum of three screenings per day for paid admission. Films released in nontheatrical media (a TV network or streaming service, for example) on or after the first day of their Los Angeles County theatrical qualifying run remain eligible. The seven-day theatrical run is still the key qualifier.
In a statement from the Academy, outgoing AMPAS president John Bailey remarked, “We support the theatrical experience as integral to the art of motion pictures, and this weighed heavily in our discussions. Our rules currently require theatrical exhibition and also allow for a broad selection of films to be submitted for Oscars consideration. We plan to further study the profound changes occurring in our industry and continue discussions with our members about these issues.”
If the Academy had increased the theatrical run requirement it would have severely affected the International Feature Film contenders who often wait to “formally” release after the nominations are announced. There are anywhere from 80-90+ international submissions per year and a majority they would not be able to last in theaters for more than one week. And yes, you read that correctly, the Foreign Language Film category name has been changed to International Feature Film.
Larry Karaszewski and Diane Weyermann, the co-chairs of the International Feature Film Committee, noted, “We have noted that the reference to ‘Foreign’ is outdated within the global filmmaking community. We believe that International Feature Film better represents this category, and promotes a positive and inclusive view of filmmaking, and the art of film as a universal experience.”
The change in the category’s name does not affect any existing category rules, the submission process or eligibility requirements. According to the Academy, “An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track. Animated and documentary feature films are permitted. Only one film is accepted from each country as the official selection.” Effectively, this means predominately English-language films from overseas filmmakers are still not eligible (sorry Australia, non-French speaking Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom).
Notably, the shortlist for the International Feature Film award is expanding to ten films. Seven will be chosen by the Phase I International Feature Film Committee (often dominated by retirees) and the additional three will be voted by the International Feature Film Award Executive Committee. This likely will mean more “broad” international films make the shortlist which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Honestly, it might have made more sense for the committee to select at least five of the shortlisted films instead of giving the volunteer committee more power.
In the Animated Feature category, there no longer needs to be eight theatrical releases to “activate” the category. It’s simply good to go no matter how many releases there are. Moreover, nominations voting will be automatically open to all active members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch. Members of other branches will have to opt-in to participate in the nominations round. All members vote on the eventual Oscar winner.
Finally, the Makeup and Hairstyling category is expanding to five nominees after being stuck at just three nominees for far too long. This category’s shortlist is also increasing from seven to ten contenders. In minor news, the bake-off reels for potential nominees shall be no longer than seven minutes.
In the Short Film categories, Animated and Live Action Short Films now have the option to qualify theatrically in either the City of New York or Los Angeles County to be eligible for submission.
Update: Please note an earlier version of this story noted that it appeared the Academy was beginning the Oscars 90 minutes earlier next year. That was not the case. The 92nd Academy Awards will air on Feb. 9, 2020 beginning at 8 PM ET, 5 PM PT.