Whether it is a block buster movie or a small indie film, what is the process for it to win an Academy Award? Who decides the Best Supporting Actress or Best Lead Actor? How do movies no one has heard of, win the largest award in the movie industry? With the award season ending, I wanted to explore what goes on behind the scenes for these nominees.
To become one of the 8000 voting members of the Academy requires some credentials. To become a voting member (and be thanked in acceptance speeches), one must be a part of the business. Each member must have “achieved distinction in the motion picture arts and sciences,” and meet specific requirements for each branch including producers, actors, and many more.
Members vote on potential nominees for standard awards given to both individuals and groups, but each member may only vote to decide the nominee in their respective field. An example would be only directors vote for Best Director. However, every member is able to nominate potential Best Picture nominees. Once votes are sent in, an accounting company adds up the results until the number of votes in each category automatically turns a “potential” nominee into an “official” nominee. To determine this magic number, they take the total number of ballots in a specific category and divide it by the total possible number of nominees, plus one. The counting, which is still done by hand, is continued until there are a total of five nominees. This process differs for Best Picture, which can have anywhere from 5 to 10 nominees. After the nominees are decided, the whole Academy gets to vote in each category, which ultimately decides the winner.
While the process may seem very straightforward, there is a lot done behind the scenes by movie companies to win an Oscar. Campaigning makes members excited about the film, which can translate into votes in the future. While not in every case, studios have shown to spend anywhere from 3 million to 10 million to lobby Oscar voters. Oscar voters are targeted in all sorts of forms including ads, mailers, screening, special events, and so much more. Campaigning for Oscar votes focuses on making voters believe in the narrative of the movie and creating a connection with it. While an Oscar is supposed to represent the best of the best in a category, that may not always be the case. If you have ever felt your favorite movie or actor was robbed of a win, you might be on to something.
Although the audience and viewers at home only see the glamour of the night, there is actually a lot of work and preparation that goes into it.
