DAWN HUDSON

“Girls Trip” producer Will Packer will produce next year’s Oscars.

It's premiere time for the film academy's long-awaited museum.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is going behind the scenes for the next Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that Soderbergh, “Erin Brokovich” producer Stacey Sher and awards show veteran Jesse Collins have come on board to produce the 93rd Oscars telecast. The 93rd Academy Awards were delayed two months earlier this year because of COVID-19’s effects on the film industry, but the show will still be televised live on ABC on April 25, 2021. Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said that this upcoming show is “the perfect occasion for innovation and re-envisioning the possibilities for the awards show.”Collins also has experience. Earlier this year produced the virtual BET Awards and is also producing the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl halftime show.

I want to commend them for trying and for putting together a criteria because we know criteria is a way to counter bias, said Smith. Five years ago, the film academy endeavored to significantly diversify its own membership. The best picture adjustment is just one of the effort. Others include implementing a set 10 best picture nominees starting at the 94th Oscars and mandatory unconscious bias training for academy members. The best picture standards were specifically designed to be flexible and give latitude to filmmakers.

In an historic move, the Oscars are raising the inclusion bar for best picture nominees starting with the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday laid out sweeping eligibility reforms to the best picture category intended to encourage diversity and equitable representation on screen and off, addressing gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and disability. We believe these inclusion standards will be a catalyst for long-lasting, essential change in our industry.The second category addresses the creative leadership and crew composition of a film. The inclusion standards form will be confidential and will not be required for best picture hopefuls for the 94th and 95th Academy Awards. The inclusion standards were developed by a task force led by academy governors DeVon Franklin and Jim Gianopulos and in consultation with the Producers Guild of America.

Cynthia Erivo, John David Washington, Eva Longoria, Zendaya and Awkwafina are among the 819 people who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If they accept, which most do, those in the new class will have voting privileges at this years Oscars. A handful of actors from this years best picture winner Parasite, including Jang Hye-Jin, Jo Yeo-Jeong, Park So-Dam and Lee Jung-Eun, were also invited to join. The Academy said that 49% of the new invitees are international and represent some 68 countries. It has since surpassed those goals and continues to infuse membership classes with both women and people from underrepresented communities.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network said Monday that the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemics effects on the movie industry. The Oscars ceremony date was the big lingering unknown, however. Now, Oscars nominations will be announced on March 15 and the nominees luncheon will be on April 15. Further, the future eligibility of films for the 94th Oscars and that show date will be announced later. The eligibility window was extended beyond 12 months once before in advance of the 6th Academy Awards in 1934.

The Oscars are implementing some big changes, including a set number of best picture nominees and to-be-determined representation and inclusion standards for eligibility. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Friday that there will be 10 best picture nominees beginning with the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. The film academy has shifted the number of best picture nominees several times in its history. In the Academys early years, anywhere from eight to 12 films could be nominated for best picture. The organization that puts on the Oscars is also committing to a new phase of diversity and inclusion initiatives, which it calls Academy Aperture 2025.