For decades now, the Academy Awards has been the biggest award show in Hollywood. From stars like Dame Judi Dench to Sean Connery, the glamorous red carpet has had many celebrities on it. For years, fans have tuned in to see their favorite stars bag an Oscar. However, not a lot of people seem to know or understand how the voting and nomination of the actors work. Unlike the People’s Choice Awards, the Oscars follow a different set of protocols.

Let us see how the award show chooses its various nominees, like Colman Domingo and Cillian Murphy, and also learn how the voting process works.

Who can vote at the Oscars?

For decades now, the Academy Awards nominees have been voted on by certain members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While it is a rather esteemed organization, it only has about 9000 to 10,000 members. Usually, these members can only nominate someone from the same field. So that means actors nominate actors while directors nominate other filmmakers and their work.

Although the Academy has mainly been filled with creatives and artists from the movie industry, its membership has not been restricted to the cream of Hollywood. Instead, there have been executives, producers, and other professionals who have made contributions to film history and have become members as well.

With the Academy being made up of so many stars and filmmakers, how and when do they place their votes to choose Oscar nominations for the awards show?

How is Oscar voting conducted?

Usually, voting for the Oscars takes place quickly over just 3-4 days before the ceremony. However, in some cases, it has been known to last for over a week. During the voting period, members can nominate contenders in their respective categories. However, the selection for Best Picture nomination has been rather different. Instead of just a select few choosing the nominations, the entire Academy puts forth their choices.

Once all the members of the Academy register their votes, the winner is picked from it. With all votes being cast online, determining the winner has been made rather easy. However, that has not seemed to stop Oscar hosts or presenters from still messing up.

Membership Diversification and New Member Addition

Over the years, the film industry has expanded beyond just pretty faces and charming good looks. With various industry professionals coming together to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the level of film excellence has been taken to a whole new height. In recent years, the board has taken proactive measures to try to diversify its membership in response to calls for greater representation and inclusion from within the film industry.

Their efforts have included trying to invite new members from underrepresented communities, including women, people of color, and individuals from various cultural backgrounds. Apart from that, the Academy also added younger members who share out-of-the-box ideas that the older generation can not resonate with. While it might not be a tremendous step, it was a huge step for the industry.

By bringing on more actors, directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, editors, costume designers, sound engineers, visual effects artists, and more, the Academy can help level the Hollywood playing field.

Oscars Voting Process Controversies

For years, there have been many controversies surrounding the Oscar voting process. From claims of foul play to unforeseen errors, everything seems to have gone wrong at least once. However, the award with the most speculation has been the Best Picture one. With every actor, director, writer, and more eyeing the prize and a different voting method to decide on the winner, fans have had their doubts about the award.

Most of the world might be expecting Oppenheimer to sweep the Oscars. However, the ranked-choice voting system may just choose another winner. The voting can continue until one film is deemed the winner. The flaws in this method were seen back in 2017 when La La Land was given the Best Picture award. Just moments later, it was revealed that there had been a mix-up and that Moonlight had won the award.

While it might have been a difficult moment for the stars on stage, things seemed to be worse for the PwC accountant responsible for handing over the wrong envelope.

Pre-Announcement Secrecy and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Involvement

Just like most award shows, the Oscars too believes in a high standard of secrecy. Before Oscar winners are announced, only 2 partners from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) know who will be crowned. Not only are they privy to this knowledge, but they are also responsible for tallying the votes and keeping true to the process. By playing such a huge part in the awards ceremony, they have built quite the repertoire with the Academy.

During the Oscar Awards, the two partners usually transport the envelope with the names of the winners to the venue. Once there, they are kept in a sealed briefcase to avoid tampering. When it is time for the winner to be revealed, the partners stay backstage to hand the right envelopes to the presenters. However, it does not always seem to go according to plan like the world saw in 2017.

What do you think about the Academy Awards system for picking Oscar nominations? Let us know in the comments below.