Michael Cieply revealed yesterday in the New York Times that the membership process to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, that group that hands out the Oscars, is mysterious. This shouldn't be a surprise, but the changes in entry rules now mean a nomination is no longer grounds for membership, either. Best actress nominee Ellen Page, it was revealed, is not a member. Weird. Weirder is how a producer didn't make the cut but his equally accomplished partner did. (I'm sure the story will embarrass someone into admitting these and other people, like Seth Rogen who was also named. Don't they want the youth vote rallying behind cooler people and movies?)
The upside of all this is that, increasingly, the membership is starting to look a lot like the world and not simply like Hollywood. (Or maybe it just confirms once again that Hollywood is still the world.) It also might mean the nominated films, technicians, and actors will continue to be less popular and more interesting - not that those two things are mutually exclusive. So it's reasonable to expect more nominees like Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi from "Babel." How much this really changes the game, though, is still anybody's guess. I mean, while Three 6 Mafia are impressive Oscar winners (it's not hard out here for a pimp anymore), Alfonso Cuaron doesn't have one. Just saying.
The most enlightening thing about this peek behind the Academy's curtain is that we now know the process for entry is as arbitrary as the nomination system can be.
