Inclusivity at the Oscars

Unpacking the controversy surrounding race and the Oscars

In 2015, #OscarSoWhite went viral on social media, highlighting the disproportionately low number of nominees of color compared to their white colleagues. Data also shows divisions when it comes to age, gender, and nationality.

Oscar voters are now required to watch all movies in a category before voting

This rule, introduced for the 2026 Academy Awards, is based on the honor system. A handful of voters afterwards admitted to not watching all the films in their category.

New Oscar categories continue to be added

We all know about best picture and best actress, but the Academy Awards also honor people in lesser-known Hollywood roles, such as sound mixers and production designers. In 2026, for the first time in more than two decades, a new category will be added: an Oscar for achievement in casting.

The Oscars now prohibit AI-generated acting and writing

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences added language to its rules and eligibility requirements stating that only roles "demonstrably performed by humans with their consent" and screenplays "human-authored" would be eligible for awards.

Films must meet a long list of requirements to be considered for an Oscar

Each nominating category has slightly different rules. For best picture, the film must have run for at least a week in one of six specified US cities; for best original screenplay, the nominee must provide a copy of their shooting script.

Oscar snubs and losses can generate controversy

Comedian Bruce Vilanch's podcast "The Oscars: What Were They Thinking?" takes listeners behind the scenes at the Academy Awards to get the inside scoop on everything from the nominating process to the celebrity spats backstage. For example, "This One Hurts!" is about the 2010 Oscars battle for best picture between "The Hurt Locker" (directed by Kathryn Bigelow) and "Avatar" (directed by James Cameron, her ex-husband).

The Oscars' best picture selection process differs from other awards

While every other award is given to whoever gets the most votes, best picture is selected through a ranked-choice voting process. The winner needs to receive more than half of the total votes to come out on top.

Two individuals are credited with making the Oscars red carpet a destination for fashion

Much like the Met Gala, fashion is now an inextricable part of the Academy Awards. But it wasn't always that way. In the 1950s and '60s, costume designer Edith Head was responsible for making sure the stars looked their best on television. In the 1990s, Fred Hayman brought luxury back to the stage after the excess of the 1970s and 1980s. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Remember iconic Oscar controversies, like the 2022 slap

Variety rounded up 21 different Oscar-winning scandals, starting with Will Smith's physical assault on Chris Rock and moving through best picture upsets and best supporting actress rumors—though nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t think Marisa Tomei gave an award-worthy performance in "My Cousin Vinny."

Who gets thanked the most in Oscar speeches?

This resource analyzes nearly 2,000 Oscar acceptance speeches. It shows the average number of words spoken, the themes discussed, and how these trends have changed over the years. Scroll through the results and see if Harvey Weinstein was thanked more often than God in past years.

Oscar winners are selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The organization includes over 10,000 members who work in various aspects of the film industry. Specific branches nominate for relevant categories, but once nominees have been selected, all members can vote for the award winners. For most categories, the nominee with the most votes wins. Best picture, however, uses ranked-choice voting.

Plenty of groundbreaking films never won an Oscar

The Academy Awards may look to celebrate the best films in a given year, but they sometimes miss the mark. This list breaks down 15 important movies that didn't win a single Oscar, including early classics like "Frankenstein" and "Double Indemnity," New Hollywood landmarks like "Easy Rider" and "Taxi Driver," and pop culture phenoms like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Reservoir Dogs."

See data measuring the emotional range of Meryl Streep

With nearly a century's worth of ceremonies and winners, the Academy Awards has plenty of data to be mined. Explore the career of the most-nominated-actor-ever, Meryl Streep, as well as data related to how Oscars impact film profits, and how winners express gratitude in their speeches.

In 2021, the James Beard Awards began focusing on 'equity and sustainability'

Following accusations that the awards’ judges and winners were overwhelmingly white and male, the foundation conducted a 2021 audit focused on “equity and sustainability”; subsequent awards have been notably more diverse.

The youngest Oscar winners in history

The awards often go to veterans who have paid their dues, but sometimes the bright young stars manage to break through. That was the case with these 14 Oscar winners (like Adrien Brody, Prince, and Markéta Irglová) who earned accolades despite their relatively green status.

The subtle red carpet war

The dress code for the Cannes Film Festival’s red carpet is conservative by today’s standards, leading to conflict with stylists embracing more contemporary looks. While some rules are Cannes’, others are out of their hands because they’re French law.

Grammy snubs and losses have generated controversy over the years

While there’s always some friction when major award nominees are announced from those who believe a favorite has been snubbed, the Grammys have attracted quite a bit of pushback in the last few years. Much of the controversy centers around the show’s purported unequal treatment of artists of color, particularly Black artists.

The Oscar statuette represents the original 5 branches—producers, directors, writers, actors, and technicians—that comprised the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A brief history of Cannes controversies

Cannes is one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, but that hasn’t shielded it from controversies, including inflammatory statements, political protests, and booing audiences.

Every best picture Oscar award winner since 1929

See the title and short clips from every film that's taken the top prize at the Oscars since its inception in 1929 in this 15-minute video.

Women work harder for Pulitzers

While the Pulitzers have never been segregated by gender, a 2012 study by the University of Missouri found female winners required significantly more elite credentials—Ivy League degrees, experience at top newspapers, and the like—than their male counterparts. Similar credentials are also overrepresented in the category of international reporting, suggesting the award favors those with more privileged upbringings.

Steven Spielberg purchased Oscars won by Clark Gable and Bette Davis and donated them back to the Academy

Since 1951, all Oscar statuettes have been awarded with a caveat—if the recipient wants to sell their Oscar, they have to first offer it back to the Academy for the price of $1. As a result, there's now a black market for the golden knights. Some buyers are anonymous movie buffs, but some are the stars themselves.

Examining golf's problems with race

In 1961, the PGA removed the "Caucasian-only" membership clause, marking the last major professional sports organization to desegregate. But unlike other sports, golf didn't see an influx of Black players following the change. This article from The Ringer's Lex Pryor examines golf's complicated history with race and gender, showing both the progress made and the challenges that remain.

A fact about every best picture Oscar winner

Beginning with “Wings,” the best picture winner from the very first Academy Awards in 1927, discover facts about all 96 of the winning pictures leading up to the “Oppenheimer” win in 2024. Find interesting tidbits about each of these movies, including the troublesome making of “Gone with the Wind” and the landmark achievements of the foreign film “Parasite.”

The official podcast of A24 film studio

They've made arthouse cinema mainstream while winning critical acclaim at the Oscars, Golden Globes, and more. Catch up on the latest episode of A24's official podcast here with interview of actors, directors, and more.

Why the Linux Foundation partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

In founding the Academy Software Foundation in 2018, the Linux Foundation spread its open-source philosophy to the cinema by establishing a neutral forum for sharing animation, visual effects, and audio technologies across projects. Its founding members include DreamWorks Animation, Epic Games, Google Cloud, Intel, and Walt Disney Studios.

Take a peek inside those $225,000 Oscar gift bags.

Even the losers will win big at the Academy Awards, thanks to all of the free swag. Here’s what they’ll take home this year.

A statistical breakdown of the global film industry

Dive into this collection of stats and infographics explaining the current state of both Hollywood and the global film industry. The page covers a variety of topics, including independent film production, box office revenue, global film markets, movie-going demographics and more. It also addresses the relatively new phenomenon of home video streaming.

Evaluating film studio A24's cult status since achieving mainstream success

In its quick ascent to the upper echelons of cinema, A24 has achieved a rare place in pop culture of both cult status and financial success. One critic asks whether it can sustain such a position in this fascinating, quick piece.

There are several theories for how the Oscar got its name

Several different people claim to have bestowed the famous nickname, including a librarian who thought the knight resembled her uncle Oscar and a gossip columnist who was poking fun at a local theater owner.

The duties and importance of Grammy expert panels have shifted over the years

The anonymous expert panels were first introduced into the Grammys voting process in the '90s to counteract claims that the awards weren't "with it" anymore—basically, that they were biased toward more traditional music acts. Of course, that was also the argument for disbanding some of them in 2022: Many people thought the panels were introducing their own bias into the nominations. Now, they exist mainly to ensure genre nominations are correctly categorized. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The Oscars considered the use of computer-assisted special effects in 'Tron' unfair

The 1982 film relied heavily on computer animation, so much so that the Academy Awards disqualified the film from its special effects category because they considered the computer-assisted graphics "cheating."

Visualizing Hollywood's flops and winners in 2023

Is the movie worth watching? See how this year's cinematic releases compare with one another by revenue and popularity with this simple chart. Hollywood movies can be ranked on two axes: their popular rating and total revenues earned. In this data...

The economic impact of the Hollywood strikes

The 2023 strikes in Hollywood resulted in significant wins for the WGA, DGA, and SAG-AFTRA unions. Workers were promised to receive bonuses that allowed them to benefit from high-performing streaming shows and films. This article shares how the rewards have been distributed to union members since their implementation. See a breakdown of the bonuses for each union, how the industry has improved, and the challenges some members still face.

The 2022 best picture winner, 'CODA,' was an Apple+ original

Streaming has changed more than how we watch movies—it's changed the way we recognize them during awards season. When movie theaters shut down during the early days of the pandemic, studios had no choice but to release their films on streaming. Once the shift occurred, there was no going back.

Critics believe Grammy expert panels primarily benefit legacy artists

When the expert review panels for the Big Four awards were disbanded, it was with the hope that the decision would lead to a broader range of nominees and winners. But, in practice, it's not clear that it's playing out that way.

In recent years, Hollywood studios have reevaluated their Comic‑Con presence

Comic-Con’s impact on the movie industry may be diminishing. In 2025, major studios—including Marvel, DC, Lucasfilm, Sony, Paramount, Legendary, and Lionsgate—scaled back Comic‑Con participation. They cited high costs, timing that didn’t align with release schedules, and limited marketing impact in a crowded promotional landscape.

A round up of the best Oscar-snubbed films of 2026

This year's snubs include Eva Victor's "Sorry, Baby", Bong Joon Ho's "Mickey 17," and Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon", all without nominations despite strong critical recognition and awards-circuit momentum. At the time of writing, these were also available to stream.

'Special effects' have evolved alongside Hollywood

Since the early days of moviemaking, directors have played with perspective to create incredible effects on the screen. From Buster Keaton to contemporary CGI, this 30-minute documentary details the amazing evolution of Hollywood's special effects.

Hollywood movies' ratings are controlled by the Motion Picture Association

The board, established by a board of parents, has provided ratings (like G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17) for Hollywood films since 1968. Although the MPA provides specific criteria for rating films, many of the characteristics (such as "snippets of language that go beyond polite conversation") are subjective.

The 25 most important stunt scenes of the 21st Century

The Academy Awards will finally recognize stunt design at its 2028 ceremony, leading one writer to gather the best stunt sequences from the century, highlighting jaw-dropping scenes from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Matrix," and more.

Film festivals are where independent projects find studios

Film festivals are incubators for the movie industry, providing smaller films and their producers with opportunities to screen in front of live audiences, as well as potential investors who may offer wider distribution.

Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign sparked conversations about beauty standards in media

For the 20-year anniversary of the campaign in 2024, Dove conducted a brand-commissioned study to gauge how perceptions of beauty standards have shifted since its launch. While 81% of US women thought “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve” in 2004, the share had shrunk to 69% in 2024. Watch the ad here.

Even at the height of his popularity, Spielberg felt like an outsider

By 1992, Spielberg was already one of the most successful names in Hollywood, but he had trouble kicking the alienation he’d felt as a kid. In this interview from 1992, on the cusp of the biggest year of his career, he talks about that feeling and how it motivated him.

Marlon Brando sent Apache and Yaqui actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his Oscar

Each year at the Academy Awards, winners of the highest achievements in film give speeches expressing their gratitude, while also venturing into politics, humor, and emotion. Some speeches are met with boos, including Littlefeather's message from Brando refusing the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment and portrayal of Native Americans in film. Others have remained memorable for their brevity, like Joe Pesci's six-word acceptance.

The Oscar statue was created in 1927

The statue of the golden knight that Academy Award winners receive (aka the Oscar) might be nearly as recognizable as the winners themselves. Oscar was born when art director Cedric Gibbons sketched him out and handed him over to sculptor George Stanley to bring to life.

Influencers have changed what music festivals look like

One major criticism of Coachella is that it's a playground for ultrarich people, with celebrities and influencers posing for selfies at a polo club. This article dissects the legitimacy of that stereotype and argues that the backlash to it has altered the festival's cultural standing.

Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscars won by an individual

Disney received 59 nominations and a total of 22 competitive awards and four honorary awards. Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jack Nicholson all have the most awards for male actors (three each), while Katharine Hepburn is the actress with the most awards, winning four times.

Title IX compliance relies on a three-part test

In 1979, the Office for Civil Rights issued Title IX’s three-part test to evaluate whether schools offer nondiscriminatory athletic opportunities: proportionate participation, program expansion, or meeting women’s interests. The guidelines offer flexibility without quotas and include specific factors for each item.

Learn how Hollywood tries to get mental health portrayals right

"Entertainment is always the first priority," the director of medical research for "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" explained in this Newsweek article. But, medical consultants and dedicated groups like the University of Southern California's Hollywood, Health, and Society program, can help inform shows' characters, actions, and sensitivities on subjects like mental illness.