Academy Members Must Watch All Nominees to Vote in Upcoming Oscars
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has sent out a stern warning to its over 10,000 members, instructing them that they must watch every single one of the nominated films in order to be eligible to vote. This new policy aims to curb a common practice among academy voters where fans of certain movies would vote for it across multiple categories regardless of whether they had seen other contenders.
The email, which was obtained by NBC News, explains that members who fail to watch all the nominees will not be allowed to participate in the voting process. The organization has stated that this is an honor system and that there's no need to save movie stubs, tickets or receipts – however, those who haven't watched the films must manually mark them as "watched" on various platforms such as the Academy Screening Room streaming service, member website or academy app.
The new rule reflects a shift in how Oscar voters consume the nominated films. The Academy has started to track viewership through its own data and the email sent out highlights this development. With the ability to verify which films members have watched, the organization is hoping to ensure that only true contenders receive votes.
However, not everyone is convinced about the practicality of this new rule. Three anonymous academy members pointed out that it would be challenging for the organization to enforce this policy, as some viewers might start a movie but then stop watching mid-stream.
The 98th Academy Awards are set to take place on March 15, with nominations announced on January 26.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has sent out a stern warning to its over 10,000 members, instructing them that they must watch every single one of the nominated films in order to be eligible to vote. This new policy aims to curb a common practice among academy voters where fans of certain movies would vote for it across multiple categories regardless of whether they had seen other contenders.
The email, which was obtained by NBC News, explains that members who fail to watch all the nominees will not be allowed to participate in the voting process. The organization has stated that this is an honor system and that there's no need to save movie stubs, tickets or receipts – however, those who haven't watched the films must manually mark them as "watched" on various platforms such as the Academy Screening Room streaming service, member website or academy app.
The new rule reflects a shift in how Oscar voters consume the nominated films. The Academy has started to track viewership through its own data and the email sent out highlights this development. With the ability to verify which films members have watched, the organization is hoping to ensure that only true contenders receive votes.
However, not everyone is convinced about the practicality of this new rule. Three anonymous academy members pointed out that it would be challenging for the organization to enforce this policy, as some viewers might start a movie but then stop watching mid-stream.
The 98th Academy Awards are set to take place on March 15, with nominations announced on January 26.
. like, what if ur just not that into cinema or have no time? this rule is soooo strict 
and idk how the academy plans on keeping everyone in check... will they be hiring ppl just to monitor everyone's movie-watching habits lol? anywayz i hope it all works out and we get some amazing winners on march 15 
it's kinda funny that the Oscars want us to watch all these movies just so we don't vote for a fave without seeing the rest lol like what if you're just gonna be too busy watching Netflix instead? but seriously tho, this new policy is prob good for the Oscars - at least then only legit contenders will win 
I mean who wants to watch another movie of that rom-com that's been out forever anyway? gotta make it count with those Oscar votes 
I think this new rule is like, super important for the credibility of the Oscars, you know? If people just vote for their faves without watching the others, it's not fair to everyone else who actually takes the time to watch those movies. And I get where they're coming from with tracking viewership – it's like, how can we trust that someone is actually voting for what they think is best if they haven't put in the effort to watch everything? 
But at the same time, it's also kinda stressful to be expected to manually mark off every single movie you've watched... I mean, I'd rather not do that, lol. But overall, I think this rule is a good way for the Academy to level up their game and make sure everyone's on the same page 
.
.
! I mean, can you imagine if everyone just voted based on their fave movie without even watching the rest? It's gonna be way more interesting now that we gotta actually see what we're voting for 
. Plus, it's all about accountability - who hasn't been guilty of binge-watching a whole series and then kinda zipping through another one just to get it over with 
. Now the Oscars are gonna be all about quality over quantity, which is totally fair 
. The only thing I'm worried about is how they're gonna enforce this rule lol 
... might be harder than we think! 
they wanna make us watch all these movies just to get our votes right lol like what if we dont have time or money for it? and whats with tracking viewership thru their own data? sounds fishy 2 me 
anywayz, gotta keep an eye on how this goes down, its def gonna be interesting to see how they enforce this rule