Special Message To Journalists, Film Critics, Awards Pundits, Bloggers And Interviewers
Welcome! We’re glad that you found us!
You may not realize it, but you have the power to help us finish our project. You’ve always had the power.
The publicity junket that movies run through gives you incredible access to Academy members and non-members alike. And if you used that access, we’d have a full list of Oscar voters in less time than it takes to click your ruby slippers together.
The best thing you can do to help our project is to add one simple question to all of your interviews: “Are you an Academy member?”
Make this question a standard part of your process. Ask every filmmaker that you sit down with. Ask actors and directors. Ask publicists and studio heads. Ask cinematographers and sound engineers. Ask industry veterans and those who are just starting out. Ask at interviews and press conferences, film festivals and Q&A’s. Ask during awards season, of course, but also ask in April and June and September.
And then be sure to include the answer as part of your story. We accept both “on the record” statements from quoted interviews as well as information gained “on background”, but ask that you do actually confirm membership rather than just assuming it. (A quick look at our Non-Members pages shows the perils of making such an assumption, even for the most famous of Oscar winners).
You can spice up the question if you like, asking about their voting process or what they think about the awards season or how they’re responding to the most recent Academy proposal or scandal. Or you can ask them whether they remember who sponsored them for membership, and if they have sponsored others over the years. Some may want to talk about how they’ve contributed to the Academy’s museum or the library, or to the student awards and outreach programs. There are plenty of things that you can ask them about on the record without having to resort to anonymity. Just don’t get too fancy that you forget to actually confirm whether or not they are members.
Besides interviews, there are any number of press kits, artist biographies and official releases from studios and film festivals put out intending them to be public, so don’t hold back on us!
We are aware, of course, that some of you who work for large and established news organizations already have a complete or partial list of Academy members at your fingertips. And if you ever want to make that information public, we would be happy to work with you in any way that you prefer. We’d be happy to give you full credit and hold a parade in your honor if you’d like, or we can keep your identity a secret by using phrases like “an anonymous tipster” or “a source close to the entertainment industry”. We can help convince your editor that there’s public interest and newsworthiness in you publishing the list yourself, or we can act like we’re in a spy movie and meet you in an abandoned parking garage to receive the encrypted data. Seriously, write your own ticket and tell us what we can do to help!
As always, you can send all questions, comments, suggestions, confirmations, links to stories, tips, leads, sources, archives, conversation starters or negotiation demands to us via email at nevertooearlymoviepredictions@gmail.com or via twitter at @NeverTooEarlyMP.
Note that we do not publish addresses, phone numbers or email addresses on our site. Our goal is to celebrate film accomplishments and educate the public, not invade anyone’s privacy or replace the work of professional awards consultants.
Thank you for considering our request!
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