• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 28, 2025

A movie producer’s elevator pitch may be a good idea for some. But when it comes to the final stage of a completed lifespan -- say, getting an award for that work -- you now actually need to see the movie.

This brings us to the Oscars. There’s a new requirement for Academy voters: They must actually watch the films.

If voters have been just musing on what movies they think they know a lot about, and like -- well, that’s not good enough. Perhaps titles like “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “CODA,” and “Parasite” don’t give us much information to go on.

Oscar voters will no longer be able to cast final ballots in categories in which they haven’t seen all of the nominees, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said recently.

It seems the Academy allowed its voters to use the “honor system” for all rounds of some 40 movies (and 15 shorts) considered as possible contenders for the Best Picture Award.

One can imagine that in terms of time spent, seeing 40 films would be a major challenge for some 10,500 busy Academy members -- and can be a chore in itself.

How will they now make sure stuff is being seen? With all the film nominees available on the members-only Academy Screening Room, it will be both easier for members to see everything and easier for the Academy to verify that they have done so.

Producers/directors will be glad for this news. Just having an Oscar nomination can be a big deal in getting visibility for the movie in theaters after the big TV award event, or more recently getting special attention, promotion, and airings on streaming platforms.

Overall, it will also help directors and producers with getting their next project as well.

What about TV? The Television Academy verifies member viewing and voting for Emmy Awards through a combination of online viewing platforms, peer-to-peer nomination and voting processes. Separate from official industry awards, there are places like Rotten Tomatoes, which give critics a vote on TV shows -- some 3,000 writers. That can contribute to viewing consumption.

Should there be other instances of mandatory viewing? Maybe for TV advertising and media-buying executives as well -- like in the old days?

Perhaps not for everything, but for some significant part of their media campaigns.

These days some would say it’s not about the content -- it’s primarily about the audience. Still, others believe that when it comes to engagement of regular-looking TV advertising content -- in traditional advertising/spot pods -- there is value here when considering the adjacent TV video show content.

Sure, there is way too much stuff to screen these days -- for pleasure and otherwise. But dipping into more screen time by professionals -- advertisers, TV producers, and others -- can be a good thing.

We’ll also take your social media tweets as well as short-on-time-to-the-point elevator pitches into consideration.