🙈 Academy members refuse to watch Oscar nominees

A new Academy rule requiring members to personally confirm that they have watched all nominees has sparked a quiet rebellion, with Hollywood veterans widely refusing to vote rather than spend time on contemporary films they have no interest in viewing.

The situation escalated after an anonymous director’s letter was published by Deadline. The filmmaker openly admitted they had not watched most of this year’s contenders and had no intention of doing so, arguing that today’s cinema is “mediocre” and unlikely to stand the test of time. They posed a pointed question: will anyone remember films like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” or “CODA” five years from now, when classics such as “The Godfather” remain eternal in the cultural canon?

This act of defiance has highlighted a deep rift between industry standards and the actual interests of those handing out the awards. Increasingly, Academy members prefer to rewatch “Lawrence of Arabia,” believing that new releases simply “aren’t worth it,” even as the Oscars try to enforce more rigorous viewing rules for voters.