On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation behind the Academy Awards – or as we all know them, the Oscars – announced huge changes and new rules for the next Oscars.
The upcoming 99th Oscars, which will take place on Sunday, March 14, 2027, will be impacted by a new set of regulations covering multiple aspects, from eligibility to promotional campaigns.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
One of the most striking changes is related to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In the attempt to limit the presence of films in which AI is used, the Academy has established that only humans who perform a role and are credited in the film’s legal billing will be considered eligible for a nomination in one of the Acting categories.
This would exclude, for example, the performance of the late Val Kilmer in ‘As Deep As The Grave’.
Kilmer, who passed away in 2025, will be able to act in the movie thanks to AI, with the film’s team recreating his likeness.
The same applies to writing categories, in which scripts must have been written entirely by a human.
This means that the Academy will have the power to investigate if they are suspicious of AI usage in a movie, including analysing scripts and performances to prove their authenticity.
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More changes in the Acting and International Film categories
Another huge rule has also been officialised, with the Academy finally recognising that an actor can receive multiple nominations in the same acting category in a single year.
This means that if an actor has been part of two successful movies in a given year, they could be nominated for both of them in the same category, taking up two slots.
Finally, maybe the most important change comes in the Best International Feature Film category.
With the introduction of the new rules, a film does not need to be submitted by a country but can enter the Oscars race if it wins a qualifying award (usually the main prize) at an international film festival.
Among the ‘recognised’ film festivals are the Venice International Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
The change seems to be the direct consequence of a huge controversy that hit the Academy in 2023, when Justine Triet’s ‘Anatomy of a Fall’, which had won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, could not be nominated for the category as it was not directly submitted by France.
Despite the snub, ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ received five other nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress, and ended up winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
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