Oscars Updates Eligibility Rules for Films Due to CoronavirusOscars Updates Eligibility Rules for Films Due to Coronavirus

The Academy Award’s board of governors met via a secure Zoom session on Tuesday morning to reach a decision regarding the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony that is still slated to take place Feb. 28, 2021.

Per THR, films will be considered differently this time, and it is because coronavirus pandemic that has crippled the global film industry.

The governors reportedly have decided that films can qualify for the competition without screening for at least one week in a Los Angeles-area theater, which had been the long-standing barrier for entry. Movie theaters in L.A. and most of the country remain shuttered indefinitely.

The report continues:

Instead, films that were scheduled for theatrical release, that meet the other eligibility requirements and that are made available for Academy members to view on the organization’s members-only streaming service, Academy Screening Room, within 60 days of being made available on a publicly available streamer or VOD service will be in the running. (This covers any and all pics that scrapped their theatrical release due to the coronavirus crisis in favor of another method of reaching consumers, such as Trolls World Tour.)

The awards rules committee, which is currently chaired by the Academy’s first vice president Lois Burwell and comprised of roughly a dozen governors (including some boldfaced names like Whoopi Goldberg), emphasized that this should be a one-time adjustment, but that it is not fair to punish companies and filmmakers who felt or feel the need, for reasons financial or otherwise, to get their work out to the world prior to the resumption of traditional moviegoing.

Also:

..the two sound Oscars — best sound editing and best sound mixing — have, following a period of study initiated and conducted by the governors of the sound branch, been consolidated into one, best sound (which will recognize both editors and mixers), bringing the number of Oscars that will be presented on the telecast from 24 to 23.

Additionally, to be eligible for the best original score Oscar, at least 60 percent of a film’s music must be original, as opposed to “predominantly” original, the prior standard.

See the rest of the report here.