The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has confirmed that performances created by artificial intelligence will not be eligible for an Oscar, and that screenplays must be written by a human being to qualify for consideration. The new rules represent the most significant formal statement the film industry’s most prestigious institution has yet made on the use of AI in creative work.
“In the acting category, only roles credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible,” the Academy stated. “In the writing categories, the rules codify that screenplays must be human-authored to be eligible.”
The context behind the ruling
The announcement comes days after an AI-generated version of the late Val Kilmer was unveiled to cinema owners in a trailer for the upcoming film As Deep as the Grave. A youthful, digital version of Kilmer appeared in the footage, created from his video archives with the support of his family. The project brought the question of AI-generated likenesses back into sharp focus — and the Academy’s ruling lands squarely in that conversation.
Artificial intelligence has been one of the most contested issues in Hollywood since the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, during which both guilds warned that unchecked use of the technology posed an existential threat to their livelihoods. The Academy’s new eligibility rules do not resolve all of those tensions, but they do establish a clear principle: the Oscars remain a recognition of human creative work.
Other changes to the rules
The Academy also updated its rules around the Best International Feature Film category. Previously, only a film selected by an official national body could be submitted — a requirement that created complications for films made in authoritarian states. Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, nominated earlier this year, had to be submitted from France rather than Iran for exactly that reason.
Under the new rules, a non-English language film can also be submitted if it wins a qualifying award at a major international festival, including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto or Busan. The film itself — not the country — will be listed as the nominee, with the director’s name on the statuette plaque alongside the country where applicable.
ALSO SEE:
Siya Kolisi’s rumoured girlfriend Rachel John visits Nigeria
Featured Image: Getty
