How to Win an Academy Award

All the hard work and skill in the world might not be enough to win an Oscar as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (oscars.org) is famously erratic in its choices. There are, however, ways to increase your chances of putting a charming gold statuette on your bookshelf.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Work hard to perfect your craft. Alternate between work on bigbudget and small independent films. It's impossible to know where the next hit is coming from, so you have to cast your net widely.
2. Avoid becoming associated with a sole film genre or type of character. Broaden your repertoire and develop your skills in a variety of films.
3. Be in a movie or release your film after September. You want the film or your performance to be fresh in Academy voters' minds.
4. Get your studio to create a buzz around yourself or your film. This means sending the film to every voting Academy member, marching you around to talk shows and angling you for magazine covers. If you win, it will translate into millions at the box office.
5. Win an award from another prestigious organization. This list includes the Chicago Film Critics, the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics, and especially the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe Awards, which in recent years has been the best indicator of who will win an Oscar.
6. Understand how the Oscar nomination process works. In most of the award categories (see Tips), three to five people or films are nominated (the number varies by year and depends on the category). The Academy is divided into branches: acting, directing, editing, writing, sound and music. Each member belongs to only one branch. In late December, Academy members receive a ballot and nominate people or films only for their branch. Note: Now is the time to cozy up to the members in your branch.
7. Wait for a call from your manager. In late January, the top five nominees are announced in each category. Final ballots are mailed soon after to Academy members.
8. Ask your manager to borrow a selection of gowns or tuxedos from the hottest designers, and some baubles from Harry Winston.
9. Attend the awards ceremony at the end of February and listen for your name. The Oscar winner for each category is voted on by the whole membership, not just the branch as with the nomination procedure.
10. Get your speech ready (see 208 Prepare a Speech).

Tips & Warnings

• Read 484 Become a Movie Star, darling.
• These are all of the "Best" award categories: picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, foreign language film, original song, original score, animated short film, cinematography, editing, costume design, art/set direction, sound, sound effects editing, visual effects, makeup, documentary feature, live action short film and documentary short subject.
• Of the Academy members, actors can only nominate actors, while music branch members may nominate people for song and score. For documentary, live action short, animated and foreign, a preselected panel picks the nominees.

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