Illustration by Jasper Rietman
With theaters shuttered, voters have started watching this year's awards contenders online, but filmmakers worry at-home distractions and laptop viewing could diminish the impact of movies — and influence voting choices.
Back in the now-halcyon days of October 2019, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled a revamped streaming service so that its members — an increasingly far-flung group, as more and more international filmmakers have been recruited to join — would have easy access to Oscar contenders without having to search out official screenings or even venture into actual movie theaters. The so-called Academy Screening Room, available to members via the Academy's own website as well as an app for fourth-generation Apple TV devices, was up and running.