Each year, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selects films that have been submitted to them for that year, and later vote on which films get nominated for each category.
After voting and announcing the films in each category, the glitz and glamor of the red carpet ensues, with a three-and-a-half-hour-long award ceremony and afterparty. This tradition has been going on for over 90 years, and in 2024, the Academy is making some significant changes to how they review and nominate films for best picture.
According to The Academy, starting with the 96th Academy Awards in 2024, film producers and directors will have to submit their movies with stricter rules from now on to make the cut. When the rules go into effect next year, they will be required to meet two out of four inclusion standards to be nominated for Best Picture. Those rules being that a film has to include diverse on-screen representation, the team behind the film, industry access/opportunities that the film offered during production and audience development.
For the first inclusion rule, The Academy is now requiring that at least one of the lead or significant supporting actors belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group. Basically, someone who is either the lead character or a major supporting character must either be African American, Asian (East, South and Southeast), Hispanic, Indigenous, Middle Eastern or Pacific Islander to qualify under the rule. For example, a film such as 2023’s “Past Lives” could meet these requirements since the lead actress and supporting actor in the film are both Asian, whereas a movie with an all-white cast wouldn’t make the cut for this rule.
Secondly, The Academy is now taking a deep dive to behind the scenes of films for which ones qualify. At least two of the leadership positions and department heads, such as the director, cinematographer or costume designer are from underrepresented groups, such as women, racial or ethnic groups, the LGBTQ+ community, or people with cognitive or physical disabilities. Along with that, one of the leadership positioners or department heads mentioned and six other crew or technical members must be a part of an underrepresented racial group, along with 30% of the film’s entire crew has to be a part of an unrepresented group. For example, a film having a plotline about someone who’s in an underrepresented group would meet this criterion.
As for the third standard, any film that is being submitted for Best Picture must have paid internships or apprenticeships for underrepresented groups while the film was in production. Basically, the Academy is requiring films that have had people in these groups helping out behind the scenes for a paid internship opportunity to help diversify the working crew on set, and to have more available jobs for those in the groups who need it.
As for the final rule, any film being considered for Best Picture is required to have senior executives from underrepresented groups on the film’s marketing, publicity or distribution teams.
For any wide released movie that is being marketed or promoted, the studio or film company involved has to have at least two senior executives that had their hand in the project be a part of an unrepresented racial or ethnic group to qualify for this rule. This strategy wouldn’t limit the artistic abilities of the crew per say, since the films being promoted have already been wrapped. But while promoting, the marketing crew will be required to be more inclusive when it comes to the studio executives promoting the films.
Going forward, the Academy is going to be looking for movie diversity with what they nominate for best picture, as in the past they have gotten a bad rap for only nominating films starring mostly white people. That way, in their view, every group of individuals can be recognized in some way. This has received several criticisms from filmmakers, claiming that they can only get their films nominated if they cast certain people for specific roles. They also argue that they should have the creative freedom to cast whomever they want and to tell a story they want, without fitting into a specific template for the Oscars.
As for the film industry going forward, making new standards for inclusivity can boost their credit, however, the freedom of filmmakers may be significantly less, that is if they choose to make and submit their films for best picture.
