How Oscar Nominations Really Work

Ever wanted to know the inner workings of the Academy Award nominations? Screenwriter John August gives us an inside peak at how it all goes down. Read about it after the jump:



"This is my first year as an Academy member, and my first year voting for awards. As a member of the Writers branch, I’ll be casting ballots for Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

Since it’s all new to me, I thought I’d walk readers through the process.

A few weeks ago, I got a printed Reminder List — a catalog listing all the films eligible for Best Picture. It’s from this list that I have to pick and rank my top ten films. I’ll hand-write the titles on a form that goes in a green envelope, which must be received by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP by 5 p.m. January 23, 2010.

Nominating ten films for Best Picture is a change from previous years, in which there were only five nominations.1 But the system of ranking your choices dates back to 1936. It’s a form of preferential voting designed to more accurately reflect the will of voters.

But man, it’s complicated. It’s easier to explain what it’s not.

1) It’s not a weighted ballot. You might think that your top pick gets 10 points, while your second pick gets nine points, etc. It’s not that. In fact…

2) You’re really only voting for one title. Your ballot will only be counted towards one film. That film will be the one you ranked first, unless your number one pick has the smallest number of votes and is thus out of the running. In that case, they count your second pick. If needed, they’ll continue on to your third, fourth or later picks until your ballot is cast for exactly one picture.2"

Read the rest of this list HERE.