Oscars' new rules: Best film must feature women and minorities

According to Bloomberg, starting in 2024, the Oscars will implement a new rule that "the best film must include women and minorities or minority groups." The Oscar for Best Picture will be awarded to more diverse films - both in terms of their presentation on the screen and their efforts behind the scenes.

The new Oscar rules stipulate that nominated films must comply with two of the four diversity categories to be eligible for the Best Picture award. For example, to qualify for the "Representation on Screen" category, the film must include a minority lead actor (Asian/Latino/Black/Native Indian/Middle East and North African/Native Hawaiian or Other Islander/Other Minority) or focus the plot on an underrepresented minority group.

The Oscars have been criticized for years for being too white and too male. At the 2020 ceremony, only one non-white actor was considered for the Best Actor award, and the plots of mainstream films are mostly about men. Cynthia Erivo was the only black actress nominated for Best Actress, and she played a black slave.

Dawn Hudson, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which sponsors the Oscars, said in a statement: "The awards community must expand to reflect the diversity of our filmmaking and audiences."

Other categories the Oscars consider when considering diversity include whether leadership and project teams are diverse, whether the distribution or financing companies behind the film provide opportunities for underrepresented minority groups, and whether studios actively seek out non-white, female, LGBTQ+ or disabled audiences.