The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have published their updated rules for next year’s Oscars, including a crackdown intended to curb the use of artificial intelligence.
In the acting categories, the Academy clarifies that only roles “demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” will be considered eligible for an award.
Likewise, in the writing categories, “screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.”
The decision means that, for example, Val Kilmer’s posthumous AI-generated performance in the upcoming Coerte Voorhees film As Deep as the Grave will not be eligible for consideration.
The move comes after several high-profile actors expressed concerns about the future of filmmaking. In February, Matthew McConaughey discussed the possibility of seeing AI rewarded at the Oscars and said: “It’s damn sure going to infiltrate our category. Does it become another category? Will we be, in five years, having ‘the best AI film’? ‘The best AI actor?’”
Last December, Avatar director James Cameron argued that the use of performance capture in his films is entirely different to “generative AI, where they can make up a character. They can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It’s like, no. That’s horrifying to me. That’s the opposite. That’s exactly what we’re not doing.”
The Academy has also announced several other changes to Oscars guidelines for next year.
Actors may now be nominated for multiple performances in the same category, if all of their performances place in the top five votes in that category.
That would mean, for example, that Paul Mescal could have been nominated last year for both The History of Sound and Hamnet. At the time, he campaigned only for the latter.
The Oscars have also expanded the number of ways international films can be nominated. Along with the existing system of films being nominated by countries or regions, international films will also be eligible if they win Best Film at either the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award – Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d’Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) or the Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion).
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As a result, the Best International Film Oscar will now be credited to the film and the director, rather than the nominating country.
These new rules will apply for the first time at the 99th Academy Awards, which take place Sunday, March 14, 2027.
