The movie industry has come a long way since the Academy Awards began in 1929, but sometimes it seems as if the Academy is unwilling to accept that. That especially seems the case when it awards movies that are homages to classic Hollywood (The Artist, La La Land) all of the statues.
In a perfect world, the Academy would introduce some new categories to keep the ceremony fresh and to stay as up-to-date as the industry. Redditors have some interesting ideas as to what categories the Academy could introduce, and some others that are a little farfetched but still entertaining.
Best Fight Scene
Ever since martial arts became popular in Hollywood, movies have been trying to outdo one another when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. The fight scenes are the big appeal for movies like John Wick and Nobody, but they'll never get any kind of recognition.
Ianchandler3 wants to see an award handed out for the best fight scene. Though their demands for what happens next, as they want "the nominees to just get up on stage and wrestle," is a little absurd, the award should become a reality. There's hardly a movie that goes by without some kind of a fight scene, even in dramas, so the award makes sense, even if it is a little lowbrow for the academy.
Best Stunts
A deleted user notes that it's long overdue that stuntmen and women get some attention. Nobody is arguing with the Redditor's sentiment that "these guys deserve their time in the spotlight" except for the Academy.
An award for the best stunts in a movie is an obvious choice, and if there's any part of the crew who don't get the recognition they deserve, it's stunt performers. They risk their lives for audiences' entertainment, and they even lose their lives more often than general audiences know.
Best Performances In A Motion Capture Role
It's easy to see how good of a performance is when it's live-action, but when an actor is in a motion capture role (e.g. Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug or Josh Brolin as Thanos,) it's a lot harder to tell. Nevertheless, MikeArrow believes there should be an Oscar awarded for the best motion-capture performance. The mention that "Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbell, and Doug Jones would surely appreciate it."
There was a lot of debate about this years ago, especially when Andy Serkis was playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings series and then Caesar in The Planet of the Apes trilogy. But funnily enough, as Serkis' motion capture roles have become fewer and farther between, so have the debates.
Best Comedy
A deleted user isn't happy with the lack of comedies that ever get nominated at the Academy Awards and thinks there should be an award exclusively for the genre. Though there have been some comedies nominated for Academy Awards, it's extremely rare. But it isn't just comedy that the Redditor believes should be honored by the Academy, but horror too, as they explain that they're "two major categories never honored."
However, in recent years, the Academy has recognized horror movies from time to time, such as awarding Get Out the Best Original Screenplay statue. There might be a long way to go, but that's a sign that the Academy is slowly becoming inclusive of all genres.
Best Voice Acting
In a similar way to motion capture, it's the CGI and the animators that are doing half of the work when it comes to voice acting. However, it is still extremely difficult to put across countless emotions with just a voice, which is a feat in itself.
Though voice actors should hardly be nominated for the same award as live-action actors, Lacourseauxetoiles hopes there'll one day be a separate award for them. The Redditor posits that "the Academy refuses to recognize voice acting performances." And in fairness, there are so many iconic voice-acting performances that would have deserved a nomination.
Best Casting Director
AClockworkBates thinks that there should be an award for the best casting director of the year, explaining that "Francine Maisler would be a 5x Academy Award winner by now." Maisler was the casting director for 12 Years A Slave, Birdman, and many others. And it would be a great category to have for movies with ensemble casts, such as Knives Out.
But an award for the best casting director is a bit hard to measure, as actors are cast in several different ways. There are times when a director creates a role with one actor in mind, and there are other times when an actor is a producer on the movie, meaning they intend to be the lead actor. On top of that, there isn't much to it when every movie features the same small pool of Hollywood actors.
Best Snub
Every year, there are lists of movies that the Academy snubbed, and KelMHill reckons that it's time for that to come to an end. The Redditor believes that "it would be nice if some light-hearted categories were introduced, to really break free from the stuffiness of past eras."
While there is a sense of elitism with the Academy, it has been trying to be more inclusive in recent years by adding more diverse voters. However, that doesn't mean it'll ever add an award for the best snub. But it would be great to see the best thrillers of the year, a genre that's generally snubbed by the voters, finally landing nominations, even if they are for "Best Snub."
Best Title Cards/Opening Credits
Augustfutures thinks there should be an Academy Award that honors the best title cards/opening credits of the year. Though they are arguably partly made up of great editing, cinematography, and even directing, which all have awards of their own, there is true artistry behind them.
There are some creative title cards and opening credits attached to movies that wouldn't normally win any awards, which is reason enough for the award to exist. And according to the Redditor, "it was actually voted on in 1999 and didn't make the cut." So it could be a possibility in the future.
Best Movie With A Budget Below $5 Million
Sjokoladenam hopes to see a category that awards movies "with a budget below $5 million. However, as "Hollywood accounting" exists, which means clever accounting goes on behind the movies that enable studios to get taxes back and generally hide a lot of costs, it'd be tough to measure.
And as an Academy Award win gives a movie so much exposure, an award like this would almost encourage that Hollywood accounting behavior. But it's still a great idea, as there'd be so many great overlooked movies that would finally get the attention they deserve, especially as the Academy tends to favor mid-budget movies.
Best Animated Movie Not Pixar
CollumMcJingleballs would love to see an award for "Best Animated Movie Not Pixar," jokingly referring to how they're the only studio that ever win it. There have been more animated movies by studios outside of Pixar that have won Best Animated Picture lately, but the celebrated studio still wins almost every year. Pixar's peak came in the late 2000s when it won the award four years in a row.
A non-Pixar movie hasn't won Best Animated Picture since 2018, which was Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. And though the animation studio deserves the wins, it also means that other smaller animated films are being neglected. So while the Redditor's award idea is half in jest, it also carries some weight.