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New Oscar Rules Slated
Honorary Awards to be limited and screenplay categories see name changes.
Monday, July 8, 2002
Vincent Rowe

 
In preparation for the 75th Annual Academy Awards ceremony, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has approved a new set of rules, which includes tougher restrictions for bestowing honorary Oscars and official name changes for the screenwriting categories.

In an attempt by the Academy's Board of Governors to limit the number of honorees of each of the honorary awards -- the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award -- to one, or two at the most, each will now require a two-thirds vote of the Governors present to give an award. In addition, three-fourths of the Governors' support will be necessary to endorse a candidate for a second award. Also, the nominating and voting for each of the awards will take place as a single procedure.

In regards the the screenplay categories, the "screenplay based on material previously produced or published" will now be known simply as the "adapted screenplay" category. The "screenplay written directly for the screen" category is now going to be called the "original screenplay" category.

 
Other rule changes went down as well. In the scientific and technical categories, inventions no longer must be used druing the awards year to be eligible for consideration for the technical and science awards. Also, documentaries that are re-edited versions of earlier feature-length documentaries will not be eligible for the documentart category.

In the case where a Best Picture nominee has more than permissible number of producers, if the producers can't agree among themselves which three producers should be the nominees, the Producers Branch Executive Committee now has the option of identifying which producers will be the nominees.

An official rule book will be mailed to members of the Academy during the first week of August. Each year, branch and category committees of the Academy review the rules for the Academy Awards, and their recommendations are then presented to the Awards Rules Committtee, which presents the recommendations to the Board.

 
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