The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has introduced major rule changes for the 99th Oscars, with the headline move aimed at AI: AI-generated work will not be accepted in the top award categories as a basis for eligibility. Under the updated framework, acting contenders must be tied to performances that are demonstrably carried out by humans, while writing awards are limited to screenplays authored by humans. The timeline attached to the change points to March 2027, and the Academy says it can require detailed disclosure on how AI was used in any submission.
Human performance and authorship now sit at the center of eligibility
The revised Rule Two is designed to close legal gray areas around generative tools. For acting categories, the Academy says a performance must be demonstrably performed by a human, and the performer must have given explicit consent and received legal billing in the film. For writing categories, the line is even clearer: only human-authored scripts can compete. That narrows the room for AI in the authorship chain and puts award eligibility on a stricter human standard.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy’s move responds directly to growing concern that AI poses an “existential threat” to creative workers. The report also noted that some industry analysts believe the stance may have been influenced by the completion of a performance by Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, through AI technology. That point remains analyst speculation rather than a stated Academy rationale.
Industry pushback had been building before the new rules
The pressure did not begin this year. In 2024, producer and actor Tyler Perry said he was indefinitely pausing an $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio complex after seeing the capabilities of OpenAI’s video generator Sora. Perry warned at the time that the technology would touch every corner of the film business and could cost jobs across acting, editing and sound work.
He also called for regulations to protect workers, saying he did not see how the industry would survive without them. By turning those concerns into formal Oscars rules, the Academy is doing more than issuing a statement. It is attaching enforceable conditions to awards recognition.
International feature rules are also being rewritten
The Academy changed more than its AI policy. It also removed the long-standing restriction that limited each country to one film in the Best International Feature race. Under the new structure, a single country can now secure multiple nominations, shifting the field away from a one-entry national gatekeeping model.
Another change begins in 2026: films that win the top prize at Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto or Busan can qualify without going through the traditional local committee process if needed. The Academy also said the Oscar in this category will now be awarded to the director by name instead of being credited only to the country. Using this year’s earlier example of Norway’s “Sentimental Value,” that credit would have gone directly to filmmaker Joachim Trier.