The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the first part of its “Academy Aperture 2025.” This initiative is meant to “advance inclusion in the entertainment industry and increase representation within its membership and the greater film community.” The biggest surprise for me? A set-in-stone lineup of 10 best picture nominees starting in 2021.
Moreover, “beginning with the 94th Academy Awards (2021), the Best Picture category will be set at 10 nominees, rather than a fluctuating number of nominations from year to year. The Academy will also implement a quarterly viewing process through the Academy Screening Room, the streaming site for Academy members, also starting with the 94th Academy Awards. By making it possible for members to view films released year-round, the Academy will broaden each film’s exposure, level the playing field, and ensure all eligible films can be seen by voting members.”
As far as what the Academy means by “representation and inclusion standards for Oscars eligibility,” we’re not entirely sure. In theory, it could refer to the diversity of characters on screen and behind the camera. As The Playlist’s Gregory Elwood just wrote, “If there is anything that could potentially get pushback from the membership it’s this directive.”
Does this mean the refusal of Oscar recognition if this or that film doesn’t sufficiently represent people of color on and off-screen? How would a film like David Fincher’s “Mank, set in the early 40s and concerned largely with white people, be treated with these new rules? The banning of “Gone With the Wind” a few days ago may have just been the start of a delicate set of events to come within the industry and beyond. Will we now not be able to look at things made in the past and put them in a historical perspective?
Important questions and, judging by this announcement from the Academy, not many answers so far.