The Oscars' Nomination Process

The envelope, please! In March 2010, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announces the winners of its most coveted honor, the Oscars; however, before any envelopes arrive for the presentation ceremony in late winter, the nearly 6000 members of AMPAS take part in the meticulous process of nominations and voting the industries best for that film year.

A Bit of Academy History

The Academy Awards, which were given in Spring 1929, are the most prestigious and oldest famous of film awards. The Oscars are presented each year and since 1935, balloting has been handled by Pricewaterhouse (now known as Pricewaterhouse Coopers.) Since 1941, the confidential nomination process has resulted in some of the most celebrated and sometimes surprising events in the Entertainment world.

The Start of the Process

Oscar nomination ballots are mailed to AMPAS active members in late December. Under the AMPAS nominating system, Academy members are allowed to vote as many as five times in their respective occupational category. Actors select actors. Directors select directors. However, in the case of Best Picture nominees, all Academy members make selections. Once the members complete their ballots, the ballots are forwarded to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The First Set of Nominating Ballots Are In

Once the ballots are received, PricewaterhouseCoopers uses a preferential system called proportional voting. The members' selections are listed in declining preference order. Votes are counted according to member preference. This nomination method creates multiple options for winners for the nearly 25 film categories. Once PricewaterhouseCoopers tabulates the final count, the final ballot is fashioned and ready for consideration by the membership. Each category, except Best Picture, has five nominees. The Best Picture category has ten, again, as of June 2009.

Tabulating the Final Ballot

Final ballots are mailed to all the voting members of the Academy in late January. The public announcement of the nominees comes soon afterwards at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

In order to vote, each member must attest to have seen all the nominated films in the respective categories. Once these ballots are completed, members forward the ballots to Pricewaterhouse Coopers less than one week prior to the presentation ceremony.

Just as it takes time to create a great movie, it also takes great effort to process nominations for the Academy Awards. This painstaking process of secrecy and careful tabulations ensures that fairness is part of one of Hollywood's most anticipated evenings.