{"id":5371,"date":"2025-04-21T22:58:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2025-04-24T18:20:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T18:20:03","slug":"the-oscars-fixes-major-voting-loophole-after-nearly-100-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/21\/the-oscars-fixes-major-voting-loophole-after-nearly-100-years\/","title":{"rendered":"The Oscars fixes major voting loophole after nearly 100 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"An\t<\/div>
A major new voting regulation is being introduced ahead of the 2026 Oscars (Picture: Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Academy is tightening up rules for the Oscars<\/a> from next year, requiring members to watch every film in a category before voting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an announcement which is likely to shock many casual film fans given the prestige of the award ceremony in the industry \u2013 and how long it has been going \u2013 this has not technically been a hard rule until now.<\/p>\n

Yes, that\u2019s right \u2013 you could previously vote without seeing every film in a category<\/a>, leading to some infamous admissions from anonymous members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences about their choices for Oscars.<\/p>\n

There had, however, previously been some specific regulations around voting applied to categories such as Documentary and Short before.<\/p>\n

As per a statement about its pre-voting procedures shared with press including Metro<\/strong> on Monday night, the Academy revealed that \u2018members must now watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final round for the Oscars\u2019.<\/p>\n

This blanket rule will go into place for next year\u2019s Oscars, set to take place on Sunday March 15, 2026, which will be the 98th edition of the Academy Awards.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Adrien\t<\/div>
Could this year’s acting winners, (from L) Adrien Brody, Mikey Madison, Zoe Salda\u00f1a and Kieran Culkin, looked different if every voter had had to watch every nominee’s performance? (Picture: Jordan Strauss\/Invision\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"The\t<\/div>
Winners from the second-ever Academy Awards in 1930: writer Hanns Kraly, actress Mary Pickford and actor Warner Baxter with AMPAS president William C. DeMille. The first Oscars in 1929 was a private event (Picture: FPG\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first ever Academy Awards took place on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with the 15-minute event hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and accompanied by a simple private dinner for 270 attendees.<\/p>\n

In terms of actually proving that voters have watched the films required to vote in a certain category, an Academy spokesperson clarified that proof of views is currently something that can be tracked via the Academy Screening Room, an internal service where voting members can view eligible films.<\/p>\n

\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Which Oscar win has shocked you the most over the years?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>If they\u2019ve seen them elsewhere, such as in a theatre, they will also need to provide documentation of that.<\/p>\n<p>The Academy rep continued to <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/oscars-requiring-members-see-all-nominated-movies-before-voting-winners-11718900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Weekly<\/a>: \u2018There is also a \u2018seen elsewhere\u2019 form that members will need to submit before finals voting. If you haven\u2019t viewed a title, it will still appear on your ballot, but it will be greyed out.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22948244 lazyload\" alt=\"Meg Ryan, left, and Billy Crystal present the award for best picture during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Chris Pizzello)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_242258572-9cc4.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>All films in each category must now be watched for a member to vote, and the Academy will be tracking (Picture: Chris Pizzello\/Invision\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018For the speciality categories, we will still require viewing in prelims and noms as usual. For this year, we will now require viewing in finals voting for all categories and all voting members,\u2019 the comment added.<\/p>\n<p>An anonymous voter complained to <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2025\/film\/awards\/oscars-2025-anonymous-ballots-revealed-1236319549\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Variety<\/a> ahead of this year\u2019s Oscars: \u2018I watch everything! I hate it when people don\u2019t take this job seriously.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s our responsibility to watch all of it\u2026 When you don\u2019t, you miss <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/02\/26\/we-created-most-horrible-creature-world-never-expected-awards-glory-22628635\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">masterpieces like The Substance<\/a> and Emilia P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n<p>And now their fellow voters will be required to join them in that endeavour.<\/p>\n<p>Many have previously been open about struggling to see all the films ahead of final voting rounds.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22948241 lazyload\" alt=\"This image released by Neon shows Mark Eydelshteyn, left, and Mikey Madison in a scene from "Anora." (Neon via AP)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_239655928-6508.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Anora was the big winner at the 2025 Oscars, scooping five Oscars including best picture and director for Sean Baker, and actress for Madison (R) (Picture: Neon via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>‘I’m bummed because I haven’t seen The Substance or I’m Still Here yet. The first Dune, I couldn’t get through; I’m not rushing for another three hours of Dune. There’s still time to re-evaluate, but I really struggled,’ an unnamed director <a href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/2025-oscars-secret-ballot-anonymous-academy-members-reveal-votes-8789203\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told EW<\/a> in a piece published the week of the Oscars this year.<\/p>\n<p>An anonymous casting director added of their best picture pick: ‘[I\u2019m abstaining from ranking] Dune: Part Two and Nickel Boys. I know nothing about Nickel Boys at all, so it seems unfair to me, and Dune, I haven\u2019t seen either one. But, The Substance and The Brutalist, I\u2019ve seen parts of them, and I\u2019ll try to watch them.’ <\/p>\n<p>It was previously announced that the Academy Awards would be <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/04\/11\/movie-buffs-say-tom-cruise-deserves-honorary-oscar-major-announcement-22891398\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">introducing a best stunt design Oscar<\/a> for its 100th anniversary ceremony in 2027, a move long called for by the industry.<\/p>\n<p>An achievement in casting Oscar is also being introduced at the 98th Academy Awards next year, following in the footsteps of the Bafta Film Awards and its similar gong first awarded in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A major new voting regulation is being introduced ahead of the 2026 Oscars (Picture: Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images) The Academy is tightening up rules for the Oscars from next year, requiring members to watch every film in a category before voting. In an announcement which is likely to shock many casual film fans given the prestige of the award ceremony in the industry \u2013 and how long it has been going \u2013 this has not technically been a hard … <a href=\"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/21\/the-oscars-fixes-major-voting-loophole-after-nearly-100-years\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> “The Oscars fixes major voting loophole after nearly 100 years”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5371"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5379,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371\/revisions\/5379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.isshicare.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}