With basically every movie theater in the country shuttered indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has relaxed its eligibility requirements for 2020 films, ruling on Tuesday (April 28) that movies can be considered for an Oscar without meeting its longstanding requirement of screening for at least a week in a Los Angeles-area theater.
The decision was made by the Academy’s 54-person board of governors on a two-hour Zoom session, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“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,” the publication notes. “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.”
However, the move looks to be a temporary one. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “The board, meanwhile, will revert to its prior Oscar-eligibility requirements when it — in consultation with health experts — concludes that theatrical moviegoing is once again safe. (At that time, it will expand the number of cities in which a film can screen for a week to qualify, adding five more on top of L.A.: New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta.)”
The Oscars are still slated to go on as planned on Feb. 28, 2021.
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