The Oscars and streaming have reached a detente. For one year and one year only, streaming-only films can be nominated for the 2021 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week.
How generous of our Hollywood overlords. Their saintly flip-flop is, like everything else, caused by the unprecedented disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic.
But shouldn’t it be due to common sense? With movie theater closures lasting longer than hoped, the People’s Republic of Film was in a bind.
Their rule for years has been that in order for a movie to be nominated for an Oscar, it must have, at least, a seven-day theatrical run in Los Angeles County.