Coming changes could improve Oscar diversity
Options are on the table for nomination, voting procedures
Don’t expect the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to stop making systemic changes to promote Oscar diversity.
The academy’s governing board already has taken action, vowing to double female and minority members by 2020. The dramatic moves came in the wake of #OscarSoWhite — the controversy that erupted after no actors of color were nominated for Oscars for the second year running.
“It was important for us to be heard,” academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs told USA TODAY last month at the Producers Guild Awards, adding that the changes were “a start.”
Possible changes in the best-picture nominations and voting procedure have dominated awards industry discussion. Among the viable options:
DO AWAY WITH THE PREFERENTIAL BALLOT.
A “preferential” ballot allows members to choose five movies for best-picture nominations. They might not be aware of the byzantine methods by which accounting firm Pricewaterhouse-Coopers tabulates the votes to come up with the eventual bestpicture field — which can fluctuate from five to 10 movies, depending on the “passion” votes.
A film that is the top pick for 5% of the members receives a nomination.
The complicated system weighs these “passion” votes so heavily that votes toward the bottom of a voter’s list are devalued — often knocking out popular films such as Star Wars:
The Force Awakens or Straight Outta Compton.
“It’s really the passion votes that matter on the preferential ballot,” says Pete Hammond, awards columnist for Deadline .com. “But as long as they’ve explained that to members, even they don’t understand it still. It’s a very convoluted system.”
NOMINATE 10 BEST-PICTURE CANDIDATES EVERY YEAR.
There is recent historical precedence: A flat 10-movie field was set for both the 2010 and 2011 Academy Awards, before the academy switched to the current varying tally — with a field of best pictures that can go from five to 10.
An expanded field could encourage diverse selections and might have allowed films such as Compton (one of 10 nominees for the Producers Guild Awards) in the mix this year.
“The easiest thing to do is to make this 10, but this is something (the academy) would like to spend a little more time (discussing),” says Hammond, who adds that the move is controversial to those who say it dilutes the prestige of the award. EXPAND THE ACTING FIELD. The absence of minorities in the lead acting categories has led to talk of doubling the field from five to 10 nominees. Steve Pond, awards editor for industry website The Wrap, says the concept “has been floated” in Hollywood but points out that “there’s no historical precedence to support more than five best-actor and -actress nominees.”
The move could backfire in a worst-case scenario, says Scott Feinberg, awards columnist for The Hollywood Reporter.
“An even larger field of allwhite actors could just make the problem even more prominent,” Feinberg says. “That could be playing with fire.”
The lack of action on these possibilities could simply be timing. Pond points out the academy has its hands full with the changes already announced.
Any additional changes would affect only next year’s program and could even become part of the academy’s annual internal review of the show after the Oscars Feb. 28.
“The academy is not known for moving quickly, which is why they surprised people last week,” Pond says. “But mostly what’s going to be on the table is implementing what has already been decided on.”