Academy Will Now Let Films Bypass Inclusion Report By Opting Out Of Best Picture Race

deadline.com:

Thanks to a quiet change in enforcement protocols, feature films entered in this year’s Academy Awards contest will be able to avoid reporting gender, race and disability data required by new inclusion standards governing Best Picture contenders simply by opting out of contention for the top Oscar.

The policy shift—which became apparent in recent changes to the “Frequently Asked Questions” addendum to the Academy’s Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry platform—could free dozens or even hundreds of films vying for Oscars other than Best Picture from a previously declared requirement all three hundred or so awards contenders submit identity data regardless of their Best Picture prospects.

Until recently, the Academy’s FAQ advisory noted that all features submitted for Oscar consideration were required to report detailed identity data on the platform, because the Academy was unable to say in advance which films might actually wind up in the Best Picture race, the only category for which inclusion standards will be enforced.

By this week, however, that provision had been replaced with a new answer to Question 13, which asks: “Am I required to create a RAISE submission for a film that I don’t want to be considered for Best Picture?” The new answer says: “You will have the option to opt-in or opt-out for Best Picture consideration.