Hollywood’s biggest annual advertisement for itself — the Academy Awards broadcast — now can carry commercials for movies themselves.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board voted to allow commercials for movies to air on the Oscar telecast for the first time starting with the Feb. 22 ceremony on ABC, academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger said Wednesday.
The vote Tuesday night lifts a ban on movie advertising that had been in place since the Oscars hit the airwaves in the early 1950s.
“This is an opportunity for there to be more entertainment content about movies in a show that’s celebrating movies,” Unger said.
The new rules will allow one spot per movie distributor during the Oscar show, and they must not have aired elsewhere previously. Commercials can promote only movies opening no earlier than the end of April, two months after the Oscars.
Studios also will not be allowed to use the terms Academy Awards or Oscars in them, and the commercials can promote only one movie, not a slate of films.
The ad ban had been in place for appearance’s sake, so viewers would not get the impression that studios paying for commercial time had any direct role in picking Oscar winners.
Oscar recipients are chosen through balloting by the 6,000-member academy, which includes actors, directors, writers, studio executives and other Hollywood professionals.
Amazon MGM Takes Creative Reins of James Bond, Ending An Era Of Family Control
In a James Bond shakeup that stirred the film industry, Amazon MGM announced Thursday that the studio has taken the creative reins of the 007 franchise after decades of family control. Longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they would be stepping back.
Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli formed a new joint venture in which they will co-own James Bond intellectual property rights — but Amazon MGM will have creative control.
Financial terms weren't disclosed. The deal is expected to close sometime this year.
"With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects," Wilson said in a statement. "Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future."
Amazon bought MGM Studios in 2022 for $6.1 billion, a purchase that was significantly motivated by the acquisition of one of the movies' most beloved and long-running franchises. Since the Daniel Craig era of 007 concluded with 2021's "No Time to Die," Broccoli and Wilson have reportedly clashed with Amazon MGM over the direction of Bond.
The announcement Thursday means that for the first time in the more than half a century of Bond, a Broccoli won't be greenlighting the next 007 film, or picking who inherits his tux. Amazon MGM also anticipates expanding the franchise beyond movies.
"We are grateful to the late Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman for bringing James Bond to movie theaters around the world, and to Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for their unyielding dedication and their role in continuing the legacy of the franchise that is cherished by legions of fans... Read More