‘Vital overhaul’ of Oscars social media and marketing campaign guidelines after Andrea Riseborough nomination controversy

May 02, 2023 at 7:51 PM
‘Vital overhaul’ of Oscars social media and marketing campaign guidelines after Andrea Riseborough nomination controversy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has introduced a raft of adjustments round social media and campaigning, following controversy surrounding considered one of this 12 months’s high nominations.

British star Andrea Riseborough’s shock Oscar nod for greatest actress for her function in low price range indie movie To Leslie, adopted endorsement from Hollywood heavyweights together with Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston, Edward Norton and Cate Blanchett.

Not beforehand thought of to be a contender within the race, some felt her nomination had come on the expense of black performers beforehand anticipated to make it into the class.

While a overview discovered that no pointers had been damaged, and Riseborough’s nomination remained in place the Academy did say that “social media and outreach campaigning tactics” utilized by the movie had “caused concern,” and that adjustments would subsequently be made.

Now, in what the Academy have referred to as “the most significant overhaul since their inception in 1994,” there have been key updates to marketing campaign promotional laws and awards guidelines for subsequent 12 months.

Changes embody clarification of guidelines relating to non-public occasions and gatherings, with people now in a position to host formal “for your consideration” occasions however prohibiting studios and corporations from funding or endorsing them.

Ke Huy Quan, from left, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis pose with their awards in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Brendan Fraser, third from left, won best performance by an actor in a leading role for "The Whale." Ke Huy Quan, from left, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis all won for their leading and supporting roles in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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(L-R) This 12 months’s huge Oscar winners Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis

Members can’t use social media to “encourage or discourage members to vote for any motion picture, performance, or achievement”.

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Voters will not have the ability to communicate to the media about their selections, even anonymously.

Studios can now solely placed on 4 “hosted” screenings within the pre-nomination interval (these are usually celeb led), nonetheless the brand new guidelines permit for a vast variety of Q&As and panel discussions all through the voting season.

And the Academy’s Board of Governors are fully barred from internet hosting non-public occasions, gatherings, screenings or moderating an occasion until they’ve direct involvement with a movie.

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The Academy has additionally expanded its language on regulation violations and penalties, together with the method for reporting and reviewing a violation, and tweaked submission deadlines throughout numerous classes.

Next 12 months the Oscars will introduce new diversity rules in a bid to enhance illustration within the trade, forcing studios to fulfill two of 4 standards for his or her movies to be eligible for greatest image from 2024.