Oscar 2014: (Flexible) maximum of two winners in Best Animated Feature Film category (photo: 2013 Best Animated Feature winner Brave) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced another rule change for the 2014 Academy ...
Oscar 2014: (Flexible) maximum of two winners in Best Animated Feature Film category (photo: 2013 Best Animated Feature winner Brave) The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced another rule change for the 2014 Academy Awards. This latest change affects the Animated Feature Film category. According to the Academy’s press release, from now on there will be "a maximum of two award recipients" for Best Animated Feature Film, one of whom must have a producer credit. And that’s where things get a bit confusing. Despite the "maximum of two" Oscar recipients, "the director and/or key creative individual shall continue to be a recipient, and in the circumstance of a two-person team with shared and equal director credit, a third statuette may be awarded." In other words, it’s a flexible two-person maximum. Last year, at most two individuals were listed per nominated film in the Best Animated Feature Film category: Tim Burton for Frankenweenie, Sam Fell and Chris Butler for ParaNorman, Peter Lord for The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Rich Moore for Wreck-It Ralph, and winners Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman for Brave. More Oscar 2014 rules changes: Best Foreign Language Film and Documentary Shorts Announced a few days ago, the most important change in the Oscar 2014 voting process affects the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Documentary Short categories. From now on, Academy voters will be able to watch the nominated films either at a theatrical screening or on DVD. In other words, for the first time the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ entire voting membership will automatically be eligible to choose the winners in all 24 Oscar categories. Why the Academy waited until 2013 to come up with this change is unclear. This should have taken place in 1983 — at the latest, as VHS tapes had been available since the late ’70s. Perhaps making thousands of VHS tapes back then would have been too costly? But those people are filthy rich! Anyhow, better in 2013 than in 2033. “This change continues our efforts to expand our members’ participation in all aspects of the Academy’s activities including, of course, voting for the Oscars,” Academy president Hawk Koch was quoted as saying. “Building on this past season’s 90% record voter turnout, we want to give our members as many opportunities as possible to see these great films and vote in these categories next year.” (If that percentage figure is accurate — even if it’s not across the board in the Oscars’ two dozen categories — that’s quite impressive indeed.) So, before the Oscar 2014 winners are selected, the Academy will provide members with DVDs of the nominated films in five categories: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Animated Short Film, and Best Live Action Short Film. Last year’s Best Foreign Language Film winner was Michael Haneke’s Amour, also a Best Picture nominee, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Best Actress nominee Emmanuelle Riva, and Isabelle Huppert. The Best Short Documentary was Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine’s Inocente. The Academy’s press release adds that "rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The Awards Rules Committee then evaluates all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Governors for approval." The 2014 Academy Awards will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. 2013 Best Animated Feature winner Brave movie image: Pixar / Disney Enterprises. This post was originally published at Alt Film Guide (http://www.altfg.com/). Not to be republished without permission.