The Oscar Game: You Join For Free, But Pay AMPAS To Keep Playing

deadline.com:

You can join the Oscar game for free. It says so at Number 9 in the Frequently Asked Questions attached to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ official submission form: “There are no entry fees to submit films in any Academy Awards category.” But that doesn’t mean you won’t be making substantial payments to AMPAS before the votes are counted.

In keeping with an overall effort to diversify its revenue stream — away from heavy reliance on income from ABC’s domestic Oscar broadcast, and toward sources as varied as red carpet access fees, a Rolex sponsorship and museum merchandise sales — the Academy has quietly been tapping contenders by increasing online mailing list and digital screening fees.

And those have grown enough lately to grab the attention of cost-weary campaigners, particularly among those associated with smaller independent films, titles vying for Best International Feature and lower-budget documentaries.

One such person, who spoke anonymously to protect relations with the Academy, recently decried the fees as an element in what has been called Hollywood’s “eblast industrial complex.” In recent weeks, debate has centered on a new, simpler, one-price for any mailing cost structure under which the Academy has effectively doubled some of the fees it charged contenders under an old multi-tiered price schedule for access to its membership list.