Who and how decides who gets the Oscar, and what is a 'bait film'

Every year, millions, if not billions, of movie fans follow the Oscars. This is not just an award that celebrates acting talent, but the public recognition of filmmakers and their hope for high earnings in the near future. In addition, the red carpet has become a real catwalk for demonstrating fashionable outfits. As the world waits for the announcement of this year's award winners, AdMe.ru decided to figure out how the nominees and winners of the award are chosen.

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Already today, March 12, we will find out which paintings will receive the coveted statuette in 2023.

The fate of each Oscar nominee is decided by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It was founded almost 100 years ago (in 1927) and at that time included only 36 film industry figures.

Today, over 10 thousand people from different countries have membership in the Academy. All of them are filmmakers whose works were released to the public. To get into the list of those who will choose the best films, you can only on the recommendation of 2 current members of AMPAS.

Academics are divided into different "branches" - from screenwriters, directors and actors to make-up artists and computer graphics specialists. The representative of each profession votes only for their colleagues.

For example, actors choose winners in 4 nominations for acting, and directors vote for the best production.

There is no complete list of film academy members on its website, but lists of newcomers are periodically published here. So, in 2020, actresses Zendaya (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Cho Yeo-jung (Parasite) were among the academicians, and The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence has been choosing Oscar winners since at least 2012.

On one of the TV shows, the actress even told a story about how her mother did not agree with her daughter's choice and tried to quietly fill out the ballot in her own way.

Film academics choose winners in 24 nominations. They vote for best film, best actors, original script, editing, and even makeup and hair. The results of this entire process are calculated by the audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. The winners in the nominations need to collect more than 50% of the votes.

On the subject: Oscar-2022: the official list of nominees for the main film award has been announced

After processing the ballots, only 2 representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers know the results of the vote. They keep the secret until the famous envelopes are opened on stage during the Oscars.

There is a version that a briefcase with envelopes is handcuffed to the hand of a PwC employee during transportation to the ceremony. And also envelopes with the names of the winners are made in 2 copies, and both representatives of the auditor firm deliver them along different routes, accompanied by security.

To prevent information about the winners from leaking to the press before the ceremony, the figurines initially have empty bases. Prior to 2010, winners had to return their Oscars to the Academy and wait several weeks for their names to be engraved on plinths.

But now you can engrave the plates immediately after the ceremony - during a party that is held in honor of the winners.

Since 2001, the Oscars have always been held in the same place - the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. It was designed specifically for this ceremony. The Dolby foyer features Art Deco columns, many bearing the names of Oscar winners for Best Picture, and some still standing unmarked. They say that there will be enough space on the columns until at least 2071.

Between the ceremonies, the theater is not idle - during the rest of the year, other awards are presented here, as well as symphony concerts and other events.

Getting into the list of nominees is quite simple - just fill out an application on the Academy website. But not everyone manages to get an award. And about the famous "big five" Oscar ", which is awarded for the best film, best director, best male role, best actress and best screenplay, the creators of modern films can only dream of.

Over the entire history of the award, more than 5 films have been nominated in all the above 40 categories at once. But the "big five" was awarded only three times. Its laureates were the films It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

There are some patterns that can be identified in the best film awards. For example, fantasy films and action films about superheroes have never received it. Take at least "Iron Man" from Marvel Studios - he deserved several prestigious film awards, but was not even nominated for an Oscar as the best film.

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Jury members rarely vote for adventure films, musicals and westerns. And the only horror film that received worldwide recognition was The Silence of the Lambs, filmed at the intersection of horror and crime drama.

But film academics love long historical epics, dramas and biographical films. Especially those where the heroes courageously overcome the trials that have befallen them. So, the number of Oscar-winning films included "Gone with the Wind", "The Godfather", "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic".

The first and so far only fantasy film to win the Best Picture award was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Perhaps he was noted just for being epic. However, the members of the jury fell in love with the whole trilogy about Middle-earth, as a result of which she collected 17 Academy Awards.

Some directors and producers even began to cheat a little and make films, as if specially sharpened for receiving the famous award. Among filmmakers, the term "Oscar bait" even appeared. Typically, such films are released at the end of the calendar year to maintain their status as novelties, and their creators invest a lot of money in advertising campaigns.

The most profitable genre for a bait film is historical drama or biopic. The press even began to publish articles with ironic headlines “Do you want an award for the best male role? Do a biopic."

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