Q&A on the news

Q: What are the criteria for nomination of best director for the Oscars? — Ken Kittrell, Flowery Branch

A: The best director award is nominated by members of the directors’ branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“Nominations voting is conducted using both paper and online ballots, with online voting being the preferred choice for the overwhelming majority of Academy members,” according to oscars.org.

Members of the directors’ branch receive a list of all eligible motion pictures and vote for up to five productions, according to a special rule for the directing award.

“The five motion pictures receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominations for final voting for the directing award,” according to oscars.org.

Active and life Academy members participate in final voting for the directing award. Q: Do Super Bowl halftime performers ask to perform or are they invited? —Mary Edwards, Griffin

A: “It’s a combination of both. Some ask to perform, and some are reached out to,” Ana Blinder, a communications coordinator for the NFL, told Q&A on the News in an email.

She added that Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl LI Halftime Show was the most-watched musical event in history across all platforms. The NFL reports nearly 118 million viewers watched the performance on the Fox broadcast network, and digital viewership via the NFL’s digital platforms including NFL.com, NFL Mobile, Twitter, YouTube and Giphy attracted at least 150 million unique people with more than 80 million views.