Academy Bans AI Performances and Scripts from the 99th Oscars

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted May 1, 2026, to prohibit AI generated performances from acting categories and AI written scripts from screenplay categories at the 99th Academy Awards. The rules apply to films released in 2026 and represent the most explicit restrictions the Academy has placed on AI in any creative category.

The Acting Ban

The new rule bars any performance generated or substantially assisted by AI from competing in Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. A human performer must have delivered the performance on screen.

The Academy's previous eligibility framework, articulated by CEO Bill Kramer in March 2026, treated AI as a tool and asked branch members to weigh human authorship in each submission. The 99th Oscars acting rule eliminates that discretion for performance categories. Kramer had stated that AI "neither helps nor harms" a film's chances, but that standard applied to production tools, not to whether the performance itself was human.

Matthew McConaughey predicted in February 2026 that AI would eventually infiltrate Oscar acting categories, describing the scenario as inevitable. The new rule pushes that outcome further off, at least formally.

The Writing Rule

AI generated or substantially AI written screenplays are ineligible in Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. Writers may use AI as a drafting or editing tool, but primary creative authorship must be human.

The rule does not define a threshold for how much AI involvement disqualifies a script. That ambiguity puts the determination in the hands of Academy members reviewing submissions, similar to how VFX branch members currently assess AI use in technical categories.

Affidavit of Human Origin

Submitters in the affected categories must sign an Affidavit of Human Origin confirming the performance or screenplay is human created. The affidavit carries formal consequences: a false declaration can result in disqualification.

The Next Web described the certification as "not a vague principle. It is a contractual obligation with consequences". The Academy is not relying on voluntary disclosure, which was the approach for the 98th Oscars. The affidavit creates a paper record that can be examined after the fact.

What AI Can Still Win

The ban applies to acting and writing. It does not extend to technical categories. AI assisted visual effects, sound design, editing, and cinematography remain eligible under the existing human authorship standard.

The debate over AI in VFX accelerated after Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein won Best Visual Effects at the 98th Oscars while del Toro was publicly opposed to generative AI. That category remains governed by branch member discretion. Filmmakers generating AI video for short films and independent productions through tools like AI FILMS Studio retain full eligibility in technical categories under the current framework.

International Film Changes

The Academy also reformed the International Feature Film category. The requirement that each country submit only one film is eliminated: a film is no longer blocked from competing because another submission from the same country was already entered. Variety confirmed six festival qualifiers can now earn a film automatic consideration.

The film, not the country, becomes the official nominee under the new structure. Deadline cited Anatomy of a Fall as an illustration: under the previous rules, it could not have competed for France if France had already submitted another entry that year.

Multiple Acting Nominations

A third rule change permits actors to receive multiple acting nominations in the same category in a single year. Previously, an actor whose performances in two different films both reached nomination consideration would appear as a single nominee. The new rule allows both nominations to stand simultaneously.

The same week the Academy formalized its eligibility rules, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP reached a four year agreement restricting synthetic performers and digital replicas. The 99th Oscars eligibility standards and the new labor contract now set a consistent boundary across both the awards and the production sides of the industry.

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Sources

Variety | Deadline | The Next Web