The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in a Thursday email received by The Hollywood Reportershared the results of its annual membership survey of its approximately 10,000 members – conducted to “better engage our members, fulfill the Academy’s mission, identify areas for improvement, and inform our goals and strategies” – and there are some notable changes to the attitude of the members.
In short, sentiment for the organization and its flagship event, the Academy Awards, looks a lot better than it did a year ago, when the survey was conducted in the wake of an Oscar Will Smith beaten Chris Rock.
And as the Academy enters its first Oscar season in which films must meet minimum “inclusion standards” to be considered for the Best Picture Oscar, it has a strong and growing mandate from its members to continue to “lead by representation, inclusion and fairness.”
The following are some of the key findings from Academy’s CEO Bill Kramer and chairman Janet Yang:
- Member attitudes to the Academy have improved from last year – from 75% positive and 5% negative last year to 83% positive and 3% negative this year. Member response from “very positive” increased from 30% to 40%.
- There was a dramatic improvement in member opinion of the Oscars show this year compared to the previous year – 82% positive and 2% negative this year, compared to 22% positive and 32% negative last year.
- Regarding the Oscars, 85% of members said it was important to have all the awards live on the show, and only 31% of members said there are other components of filmmaking that they would like to see recognized during the Oscars show.
- 87% of members say the theater experience is important to them.
- 76% of members say in-person screenings of members are important to them.
- 94% of members would like to be connected to the Academy through the Academy Screening Room.
- 85% of members say it is important for the Academy to be at the forefront of representation, inclusion and justice. This is an increase of 5% compared to last year.
- 83% of members say it is important for the Academy to facilitate member education and engagement on sustainability and climate action in the industry.
- The top three ways members want to engage with the Academy are through film screenings, industry and member receptions, and film festival events and programs. 71% of members said they enjoy being connected to the Academy through the weekly Academy Member Bulletin.
The post further noted that many members requested the Academy…
- Add more engagement opportunities and activities in NY, SF and outside the US
- Treat all branches fairly.
- Programming from the Travel Academy Museum outside of Los Angeles.
- Add more industry events and interaction.
- Continue to improve communication, especially from the branches.
- Create a clearer way to make suggestions to their affiliates.
- Keep movies longer on the Academy Screening Room portal and put them on the portal sooner.
- Troubleshoot Academy Screening Room bandwidth issues.
- Provide easy movie search in the Academy Screening Room.
- Create a random order of movies to appear in the Academy Screening Room.
Kramer and Yang concluded by assuring members, “We take all these notes to heart and will continue to update you as we move forward. Your contribution will be invaluable in creating goals and focus areas for the fiscal year ahead.”
