If that is the case, the film academy will expand
the qualifying theaters beyond Los Angeles
County to include venues in New York City,
Chicago, San Francisco, Miami and Atlanta.
“The theatrical experience is the DNA of the
academy and that communal experience of the
movie theater is something we feel is intrinsic
to movies,” said Hudson.
Other changes included combining the sound
mixing and sound editing categories into best
achievement in sound.
“This is something long in the making and
generated by the experts in the sound field.
They wanted to propose this change after
reviewing a long history of overlap,” Rubin said.
“They wanted it to be reflective of how the
sound industry works together today.”
Additionally, all film academy members
are now able to vote in the first round for
international feature film, the category formerly
known as best foreign language film.
The board also said for a film score to be
eligible in the original score category, it must
have 60% original music. For sequels and
franchise films, there must be a minimum of
80% new music.
Rubin and Hudson said that the film academy’s
response to COVID-19 will continue to be
fluid. No decisions have been made yet as
to plans for the annual Governors Awards,
which are typically held in the fall in Los
Angeles. But the 93rd Academy Awards are
still a go, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles
on Feb. 28, 2021.