The academy behind the awards

The hottest Hollywood club this week is invite only. It’s exclusive. It’s decadent. And it will undoubtedly be all over the news after the weekend.

This Sunday’s Academy Awards show is arguably the most anticipated night in film for good reason: The winners and nominees are chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a selected group of elite industry professionals.

In order to even be considered for membership, a filmmaker must either be nominated for an award or be sponsored by someone already in the academy. There is no way of applying; a filmmaker’s work alone must merit admission to the academy.

Barbara Boyle, chair of the UCLA Department of Film, received her invitation in the 1970s when two academy members began to take notice of her work with American and foreign-film distribution. Now, as a member of the executive branch of the academy, Boyle finds herself still working as hard for the academy as she was 25 years ago.

“I don’t know about other industries, but I work beyond what I do in the office because my regular life is interconnected with film,” Boyle said.

She is assigned to watch about 14 films over 10 to 12 weeks in order to properly evaluate the best films of the year as a voting member of the academy.

There are currently 5,830 voting members of the academy, which are divided into 14 branches. Each branch, such as Directing or Cinematography, nominates five candidates for its respective category. Smaller committees are created for the smaller categories, such as Best Animated Feature.

The whole academy then votes for the winners through secret ballot, ensuring that each member voices his true opinion.

“It’s not a popular choice ““ it’s an expert’s choice,” Boyle said. “You have people nominating for their specific field of expertise so the most qualified people choose the (contenders).”

In contrast, the Golden Globe Awards in January are decided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a collection of journalists who specialize in film and have affiliations with publications from all over the world. While a Golden Globe is an honor, the Academy Award is the real gold standard.

“We’ve been around since 1929 and I think the world recognizes that the Oscars is the ultimate achievement,” said Teni Melidonian, publicist for the 79th Academy Awards. “These are motion industry professionals and who better than them can decide what the best films and performances are?”

Because box-office data and popular appeal are discouraged from influencing the way the academy votes, the Oscars may seem too conservative or too elitist to appeal to the common moviegoer. Though the film trade magazines and Sunset Boulevard are smothered with advertisements for the year’s contenders, public opinion technically plays no role in the nominating procedure or in the selection of winners.

“I can see how people might be turned off by (the Oscars) because the voting process is very exclusive,” said John Simmons, a visiting UCLA film professor and respected cinematographer.

“But the industry itself has a little bit of that in its history and, eventually, the cream rises to the top.”

Since the members of the academy control what is considered for an Academy Award, they have the power to shed light on hidden gems of the year that are in danger of being overlooked.

“The academy has nominated a lot of films that people are not aware of, that are under the radar,” Melidonian said. “(They) have access to seeing a lot of films that the public doesn’t, and they get to sample a lot more of what is out there.”

Boyle also pointed out that for the past decade, the academy has made less obvious choices, such as this year’s Best Motion Picture-nominee “Little Miss Sunshine,” the category’s unofficial underdog ““ which has ties to UCLA through alumni directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

Yet another surprise Oscar-nominated film this year is “Monster House,” directed by UCLA alumnus Gil Kenan. The honor also earns him consideration for admission to the academy, possibly joining the ranks of other members such as Boyle, alumnus Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) and Gil Cates, founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

That Kenan is only 30 years old and already on his way to being an academy-member hopeful speaks of the award’s focus on achievement rather than prestige, reinforcing the idea that the academy honors the best films based on their content and not their creator.

“By having the membership work in that way, you’re guaranteed a professional and critical look at a piece of work,” Simmons said. “It (also) says something about the future of (Kenan’s) career.”

With more films affiliated with UCLA garnering attention and awards, Boyle cannot help but feel proud of the students who have received a quality education in her department and flourished in the film industry. But just as importantly, Boyle is proud of her work with the academy.

“This is an industry and town that talks all the time to each other and we are inundated with information as to why a particular picture should be nominated. But ultimately, the academy strives to stay fair … and use an objective standard,” Boyle said.

“We pick what we think was the best film because we know what’s out there. We know what’s good.”

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