The Academy of Arts and Sciences of the Cinema, responsible for presenting the Oscars, announced Tuesday night that it would not change the eligibility criteria that could exclude Netflix candidates.
A movement led by director Steven Spielberg has been campaigning for months to ensure that films produced and broadcast by the online video platform are no longer eligible for the Oscars. The Academy has finally maintained the second point of its rule that, in order to be eligible, a film must only have been featured in a Los Angeles County Hall for at least seven days in a row.
"We support indoor viewing and consider it essential to the art of cinema, and that has greatly influenced our discussions," said the president of the Academy, John Bailey, quoted in a statement. "We intend to further explore the profound changes in our industry and continue to engage with our members on this topic," he added, opening the door to a possible evolution of criteria beyond this. year.
Netflix advances its pawns within Hollywood
The US Department of Justice had recently joined the file by sending a letter to the Academy in mid-April warning it of a possible violation of competition law. Far from opposing the Hollywood establishment head-on, Netflix seeks to progressively advance its pawns and to make allies there.
In January, the streaming giant reached a plateau by becoming an official member of the American Studio Association (MPAA). Sign that a significant part of Hollywood is no longer hostile to him, Alfonso Cuaron's film Roma , produced by Netflix, won three major Oscars at the last ceremony, especially that of best director. In Cannes, Netflix was excluded from the official selection competition for the 2019 edition, for the second year in a row, due to the lack of theatrical release of his films.