Editing Academy Awards (section)

=== Rules ===
According to Rules 2 and 3 of the official Academy Awards Rules, a film must open in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of January 1 to midnight at the end of December 31, in [[Los Angeles County, California]], and play for seven consecutive days, to qualify, except for the Best International Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature, and awards in short film categories. The film must be shown at least three times on each day of its qualifying run, with at least one of the daily showings starting between 6{{spaces}}pm and 10{{spaces}}pm local time.<ref name="92Rule2">{{cite web |title=Rule Two: Eligibility |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114205010/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |access-date=March 20, 2020 |website=92nd Academy Awards of Merit: Rules |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ |website=Oscars Submission |url=https://submissions.oscars.org/FAQ.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401230002/https://submissions.oscars.org/FAQ.aspx |archive-date=April 1, 2015 |access-date=March 16, 2015}}</ref>

For example, the 2009 [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] winner, ''[[The Hurt Locker]]'', was originally first released in 2008, but did not qualify for the [[81st Academy Awards|2008 awards]], as it did not play its Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles until mid-2009, thus qualifying for the [[82nd Academy Awards|2009 awards]]. Foreign films must include English subtitles. Each country can submit only one film for consideration in the International Feature Film category per year.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Academy and its Oscar Awards – Reminder List of Eligible Releases |url=http://www.youbioit.com/en/article/shared-information/949/academy-and-its-oscar-awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111232741/http://www.youbioit.com/en/article/shared-information/949/academy-and-its-oscar-awards |archive-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref>

Rule 2 states that a film must be [[feature film|feature]]-length, defined as a minimum of 40{{spaces}}minutes, except for short-subject awards. It must exist either on a [[35 mm movie film|35 mm]] or [[70 mm film]] print, or in 24{{spaces}}frame/s or 48{{spaces}}frame/s [[progressive scan]] [[digital cinema]] format, with a minimum projector resolution of 2,048 by 1,080 pixels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Academy Award Rules |url=http://www.oscars.org/sites/default/files/87aa_rules.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021054540/http://www.oscars.org/sites/default/files/87aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=October 21, 2014 |access-date=March 17, 2015}}</ref> Since the [[90th Academy Awards]], presented in 2018, multi-part and limited series have been ineligible for the Best Documentary Feature award. This followed the win of ''[[O.J.: Made in America]]'', an eight-hour presentation that was screened in a limited release before being broadcast in five parts on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and [[ESPN]], in that category in [[89th Academy Awards|2017]]. The Academy's announcement of the new rule made no direct mention of that film.<ref name=":3">{{cite magazine |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=April 7, 2017 |title=Oscars: New Rules Bar Multi-Part Documentaries Like 'O.J.: Made in America' |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/oscars-new-rules-documentary-oj-made-in-america-barred-1202026406/ |url-status=live |magazine=Variety |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415012418/http://variety.com/2017/film/news/oscars-new-rules-documentary-oj-made-in-america-barred-1202026406/ |archive-date=April 15, 2017 |access-date=May 30, 2017}}</ref>

The Best International Feature Film award does not require a U.S. release. It requires the film to be submitted as its country's official selection.

The Best Documentary Feature award requires either week-long releases in ''both'' Los Angeles County ''and'' any of the [[Boroughs of New York City|five boroughs]] of New York City during the previous calendar year,{{efn|Starting with the [[89th Academy Awards|2017 awards]], a qualifying release for the Documentary Feature award can take place anywhere in the [[Boroughs of New York City|five boroughs]] of New York City. Previously, a New York City qualifying run could only take place in [[Manhattan]]. Since then, [[Brooklyn]] has also become a popular location.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Awards Rules Approved for 89th Oscars® |date=June 30, 2016 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.oscars.org/news/awards-rules-approved-89th-oscarsr |access-date=April 7, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116212337/https://www.oscars.org/news/awards-rules-approved-89th-oscarsr |archive-date=November 16, 2020}}</ref>}} or a qualifying award at a competitive film festival from the Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival list, regardless of any public exhibition or distribution, or submission in the International Feature Film category as its country's official selection. The qualifying theatrical runs must meet the same requirements as those for non-documentary films regarding numbers and times of screenings. A film must have been reviewed by a critic from ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out New York]]'', the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', or ''[[LA Weekly]]''.<ref name="92Rule11">{{cite web |title=Rule Eleven: Special Rules for the Documentary Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114205010/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |access-date=March 20, 2020 |website=92nd Academy Awards of Merit: Rules |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

Producers must submit an Official Screen Credits online form before the deadline. If it is not submitted by the defined deadline, the film will be ineligible for Academy Awards in any year. The form includes the production credits for all related categories.

Awards in short film categories (Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Animated Short Film, and Best Live Action Short Film) have different eligibility rules from most other competitive awards. First, the qualifying period for release does not coincide with a calendar year, instead covering one year starting on October 1, and ending on September 30 of the calendar year before the ceremony. Second, there are multiple methods of qualification. The main method is a week-long theatrical release in ''either'' New York City ''or'' Los Angeles County during the eligibility period. Films also can qualify by winning specified awards at one of several competitive film festivals designated by the Academy, also without regard to prior public distribution.<ref name="92Rule11"/><ref name="92Rule19"/>

A film that is selected as a gold, silver, or bronze medal winner in an appropriate category of the immediately previous Student Academy Awards is also eligible (Documentary category for that award, and Animation, Narrative, Alternative, or International for the other awards). The requirements for the qualifying theatrical run are also different from those for other awards. Only one screening per day is required. For the Documentary award, the screening must start between noon and 10{{spaces}}pm local time. For other awards, no specific start time is required, but the film must appear in regular theater listings with dates and screening times.<ref name="92Rule11"/><ref name="92Rule19">{{cite web |title=Rule Nineteen: Special Rules for the Short Film Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114205010/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/92aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=January 14, 2020 |access-date=April 7, 2020 |website=92nd Academy Awards of Merit: Rules |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

In late December, ballots and lists of eligible films are sent to the membership. For most categories, members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees only in their respective categories, i.e. only directors vote for directors, writers for writers, actors for actors, etc. In the special case of Best Picture, all voting members are eligible to select the nominees. A number of branches are only eligible to vote in Best Picture during nomination voting; this includes a producers' branch, as Best Picture is awarded to a film's producer(s), and other branches which have no corresponding award.<ref name="Pond"/> In all major categories, a variant of the [[single transferable vote]] is used, with each member casting a ballot with up to five nominees (ten for Best Picture) ranked preferentially.<ref name="TheEnvelope">{{cite news |last=Pond |first=Steve |date=January 7, 2006 |title=Eight things every voter (and fan) should know about Oscar's decidedly unique nomination process. |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-oscarvote7jan07,0,6919642,print.story?coll=env-home-headlines |access-date=January 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017160343/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/env-oscarvote7jan07%2C0%2C6919642%2Cprint.story?coll=env-home-headlines |archive-date=October 17, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Young |first=John |date=January 27, 2011 |title=Oscars: The wacky way the Academy counts votes, and the results of our 'If You Were an Oscar Voter' poll |url=https://ew.com/article/2011/01/27/oscar-voter-ballot-reader-poll-results |url-status=live |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506042043/http://www.ew.com/article/2011/01/27/oscar-voter-ballot-reader-poll-results |archive-date=May 6, 2016 |access-date=February 29, 2016}}</ref><ref name="vox"/> In certain categories, including International Feature Film, Documentary and Animated Feature, nominees are selected by special screening committees made up of members from all branches.

In most categories, the winner is selected from among the nominees by [[plurality voting]] of all members.<ref name="TheEnvelope"/><ref name="vox"/> Since 2009, the Best Picture winner has been chosen by [[instant-runoff voting]].<ref name="vox">{{cite press release |title=Preferential Voting Extended to Best Picture on Final Ballot for 2009 Oscars |date=August 31, 2009 |url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2009/20090831a.html |access-date=February 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010053612/http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2009/20090831a.html |archive-date=October 10, 2009 |work=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=VanDerWerff |first=Emily |date=February 22, 2015 |title=The Oscars' messed-up voting process, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/2/22/8084239/oscars-2015-ballot |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225211043/http://www.vox.com/2015/2/22/8084239/oscars-2015-ballot |archive-date=February 25, 2016 |access-date=October 6, 2019 |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref> Since 2013, re-weighted [[range voting]] has been used to select the nominees for the [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Best Visual Effects]].<ref>{{cite web |year=2016 |title=89TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS OF MERIT |url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/89aa_rules.pdf#page=32 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000636/http://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/89aa_rules.pdf |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |at=RULE TWENTY-TWO SPECIAL RULES FOR THE VISUAL EFFECTS AWARD |quote=Five productions shall be selected using reweighted range voting to become the nominations for final voting for the Visual Effects award.}}</ref>

Film companies will spend as much as several million dollars on [[For Your Consideration (advertising)|marketing to awards voters]] for a film in the running for Best Picture, in attempts to improve chances of receiving Oscars and other film awards conferred in [[Oscar season]]. The Academy enforces rules to limit overt campaigning by its members to try to eliminate excesses and prevent the process from becoming undignified. It has an awards czar on staff who advises members on allowed practices and levies penalties on offenders.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marich |first=Robert |title=Marketing to Moviegoers: A Handbook of Strategies and Tactics |publisher=[[Southern Illinois University Press]] |year=2013 |edition=3rd |pages=235–48}}</ref> For example, a producer of the 2009 Best Picture nominee ''[[The Hurt Locker]]'' was disqualified as a producer in the category when he contacted associates urging them to vote for his film and not another that was seen as the front-runner. ''The Hurt Locker'' eventually won.