The body responsible for the Oscars is addressing for the first time the question of the eligibility of films using artificial intelligence under the new rules planned for the 2027 Oscars ceremony.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released updates on many categories on Friday, emphasizing the importance of human authorship without banning AI.
The new rules also include significant changes to the much-criticized international film category, expanding eligibility to include films that have won major awards at prestigious festivals such as Cannes, Venice and Toronto.
"Like every year, we've made a lot of changes that we think are really smart and progressive", Academy CEO Bill Kramer told the Associated Press. "Obviously, as the Academy goes international, we need to think about how we integrate international films into the Oscar debate. "
As part of its annual review of Oscar eligibility rules, the Academy is tackling one of the biggest concerns of the global film community: generative artificial intelligence.
The new rules state that "these tools do not help or harm the chances of obtaining a nomination" and that the Academy and each of its sections "will judge the quality of the work taking into account the degree of human involvement in the heart of artistic creation when choosing the film to reward. They also reserve the right to request more information from the production team on the nature of the use of AI and "human creation".
Regarding performance eligibility, only roles "manifestly interpreted by humans with their consent" will be considered. The organization declined to comment on the eligibility of AI's upcoming Val Kilmer performance, as filmmakers have yet to submit it for review.
A likeness isn't an actor, to begin with, but it could also depend on how Val Kilmer is credited in the film: as Val Kilmer or under another name? One could also take Andy Serkis as Gollum as an example of a collaboration between a human and technology for the final performance.
"We will look at this on a case-by-case basis", Kramer said. "Like everyone in our industry and around the world, we will evaluate this every year. "
There is less ambiguity in scenario categories, where the rules state that "scenarios must be written by humans to be eligible".
The Cinema Academy has often had to review its standards to adapt to current technological advances, whether sound, color or computer-generated images (CGI).
As its composition has become internationalized, voices have multiplied calling for an overhaul of the international film category, which has been continually criticized as unfair, outdated and subject to political interference. This has led to independent and dissident filmmakers often not being introduced to represent their home countries.
The winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year, for example, "It Was Just an Accident", by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, was not presented as Iran's official candidate for the 98th ceremony of Oscars, but like that of France.
Under the new rules, "It Was Just an Accident" could be considered eligible because it won first prize at Cannes and not because any country chose to present it. In addition to the Palme d'Or in Cannes, the Golden Lion in Venice and the Platform Prize in Toronto, other festivals awarding eligible prizes will also include the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Best Film at the Busan International Film Festival and the World Cinema Jury Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
All international films will also be credited as nominees, not country or region, and the award will be accepted by the filmmaker. The director's name will also appear on the Oscar plaque, "after the title of the film and the country, if applicable".
The acting branch catches up with the rest of the Academy by allowing an actor to be nominated for multiple performances in the same category. If, for example, Michael B. Jordan, winner of this year's Best Actor award, is putting in two outstanding performances in two different films in 2026, he could eventually get two nominations for Best Actor.
This is a common practice in other categories. In 2001, at the 73rd Academy Awards, Steven Soderbergh was nominated for Best Director for both "Traffic" and "Erin Brockovich", winning the award for the former.
The organization also clarified the eligibility criteria for original songs used during the end credits of a film. For songs whose first part airs during the end credits, it must overlap at least the last 15 seconds of the film before the start of the credits to be considered eligible. This year's winning original song, "Golden", was a key element of "KPop Demon Hunters" and was used several times throughout the film.
