93rd Academy Awards To Happen As Scheduled, Streaming Films Eligible For Noms

The threat posed by the novel coronavirus is forcing every big organization to either postpone or cancel their events to prevent the spread of the disease that has claimed more than 200,000 lives globally. The outbreak has also put pressure on the organizations to analyze the situation first before making a decision for their future events.

There have been many reports that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will be coming up with a roadmap on how to deal with the current situation and how the organizers are planning to select the movies for next year's star-studded ceremony given that the theaters have shut down amid the pandemic.

On Tuesday (April 28), the Academy’s board of governors sat down for an online meeting to discuss various aspects of the ceremony and they decided that the annual awards show should go as planned. The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on Feb. 28, 2021, as per the Hollywood Reporter.

The board also made some changes to the eligibility criteria in response to the ongoing pandemic. Films that were slated for a theatrical release and are available for streaming for the members of the Academy on the company’s members-only streaming service will be eligible for a nomination at Hollywood’s biggest night. Entries need to be submitted within two months or within 60 days of being available on a streaming or VOD service.

As soon as the news surfaced online, the organization’s president, David Rubin, told the media outlet that the Academy is trying to serve its members well. Rubin also noted that they are making “every effort” to take on the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic.

“We are making every effort to contend with a very difficult global crisis, and at the same time serve our members well and honor the great work of wonderful filmmakers. We've worked hard to thread that needle and stay true to our core value of honoring theatrical exhibition,” Rubin said.

The organization has also decided to merge two Oscar categories – Sound Editing and Sound Mixing. The accolade will now be called “Best Achievement in Sound.”

The Academy is the first organization to talk about an event that is slated to happen next year. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has not made any comment on next year’s Golden Globes.

As far as the pandemic is concerned, the U.S. has become the first nation to report more than 1 million positive cases of COVID-19. On the other hand, the world has witnessed over 3 million cases and 217,948 deaths as of late.