Oscars 2024 Behind The Scenes: Who Actually Votes For The Winners?
The Academy Awards are enjoying their 96th ceremony in 2024, and the medium has undergone many changes over the years. Motion pictures were just making the leap from silents to talkies when "Wings" won the first Best Picture Oscar for 1927-1928. Factor in the transition from black-and-white to color, advancements in sound and visual presentation (particularly the move from the boxy 1.33:1 aspect ratio to widescreen expanses undertaken to emphasize the see-it-big experience that will always set the theatrical experience apart from television), and the advent of computer generated special effects, and it's obvious why certain Oscar categories have been forced to adapt to changing times — and why sometimes new categories need to be invented.
Given that these some of these categories require a very specific degree of expertise, you're probably wondering if every single Academy member is allowed to vote on every single Oscar. Can actors vote on Best Visual Effects? Can Visual Effects artists vote on performances? Do all of these members have time to watch every single nominated movie?
The answer varies from category to category, but the short answer is: If they're willing to put the work in, yes.
Five categories have viewing requirements
The individual Academy branches (e.g. actors, designers, editors, etc.) are mostly tasked with deciding who makes the cut. For documentaries and animated shorts (features and shorts), the branch members have to watch a minimum number of eligible works (defined by current procedures, which change), at which point the films are winnowed down into a fifteen-title shortlist. All members of these branches who've participated in this process then vote (via preference) to determine the final five nominees.
At this point, the process is opened up to all Academy members, who, provided they watch all five nominees, may cast a vote for Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short.
As for Best International Feature and Best Short, every single member may participate in the nomination process, but, as with the Documentary and Animated categories, they must watch a minimum number of eligible works (defined by current procedures, which change). They may then vote to determine the final five. At this point, the process is opened up to all Academy members, who, provided they watch all five nominees, may cast a vote for Best International Feature and Best Short.
These are the six categories with viewing requirements prior to the final vote. Other than that, everyone gets to vote on every nominee, and they don't have to prove they've seen everything. I'd like to tell you every Academy member watches every nominee in every other category, but I am not a huge fan of lying.