Sam Sanders

You know, I call this award season because like it's very long.

It is a season with like beats and moments and a whole arc for these movies.

It is massive.

It is expensive.

And I want to try and unpack what that Oscar industrial complex, what it's made of.

It feels eerily similar to a political campaign.

And a thing that everyone talks about in that world is like, how much did you have to spend to get one vote?

Same question to you for the Oscars.

Let's math it.

If Nora spent $18 million to win Best Picture.

How many zeros are a million?

18 million divided by 6,000?

6,000.

So let's dig in a little more on who these Academy voters are.

Every year there is chatter about who these people are and whether they are the best representation for the film going public or for the film industry.

I remember the Oscars So White controversy from, gosh, almost a decade ago.

That led to a widen of the ranks, to a diversification of the ranks.

Right now, if you had to describe it, what is this body?

How big is it?

Who are they?