In a move that has left some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences scratching their heads, the Oscars-dispensing organization has notified its members that it will no longer host screenings of films that are nominated for Oscars, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The announcement was included in January’s Academy Bulletin that was emailed to members, and has only begun to gain wider notice in recent days as some members have attempted to rally others to join them in issuing a protest.
The Academy has long hosted screenings of Oscar-hopefuls for its members throughout the year in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, New York and London, and then again after the announcement of the Oscar nominations. But in recent years — particularly over the seven years since the Academy introduced its members-only streaming service, the Academy Screening Room, through which members can watch films at home — attendance at all of these screenings has markedly declined.
According to the Academy, this has been most evident at the post-nom screenings — “an average of five members attended these screenings in the last two years,” the organization asserted in its missive to members — which reportedly cost the organization thousands of dollars a pop. So the Academy decided to save resources by eliminating them altogether.
Some members tell THR they are outraged that an organization that is ostensibly dedicated to the big screen would require its members to catch up with films that they may have missed during the pre-nominations period on the small screen during the post-nominations period. They insist that nominees like Frankenstein and Avatar: Fire and Ash cannot be properly evaluated at home.
But the Academy counters that its members had plenty of opportunities to see those films on the big screen before the noms, not only at an official Academy screening or at a commerical cinema, but also through studio-organized FYC screenings, which studios are now able to alert members to via a calendar on the members-only website.
The entire letter from the Academy to its members appears below.
Dear Academy members,
Thank you for your dedication and participation this Oscars season. We hope all of you were able to watch the Oscars Nominations Announcement this week. It was historic!
Over the last several months, we were thrilled to host for members more than 300 first-run Oscar-qualifying film screenings in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, New York and London. This included nominated films as well as all shortlisted International Feature films and the shortlisted films in our three short film categories. Many thanks to all members who participated.
In addition, we have increased member connectivity to FYC screenings by our industry partners via our FYC screenings calendar on the member site. It’s been incredible to see the commitment from industry partners to providing additional opportunities for members to see these films on the big screen. If you have not opted in for this function yet, please do so on the member site.
Moving forward, as turnout for our post-nomination screenings has been incredibly small over the last few years (an average of five members attended these screenings in the last two years), we will not rescreen these films. Please note that, in addition to FYC screening opportunities, all nominated films are available for members to watch on the Academy Screening Room.
Thank you for taking advantage of all these offerings — we appreciate your continued support and passion for watching movies!
Thank you,
The Academy