What are the Academy Events? Programs list explored amid Will Smith's 10-year ban

On Friday, April 9, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors announced that King Richard star Will Smith was banned for ten years. As a result, the actor will be barred from attending any ceremony or event hosted by the Academy.

The news comes a week after Will Smith resigned from the Academy following the international backlash after his scandalous altercation with Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards. Addressing the conflict, the statement from Academy insinuated regret for not intervening at the event itself.

In the statement, the governors of the Oscars collectively expressed their thanks to Chris Rock and the presenters regarding Will Smith's behavior:

"We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters, and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast."

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What types of Academy Events is Will Smith barred from?

As mentioned by the governors of the Academy in their statement, the 53-year-old Philadelphia native will not be allowed to enter any physical or virtual event hosted by the Oscars' governing body.

The statement mentioned,

"The Board of Governors has decided, for a period of 10 years, from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."

The Academy Events refers to the programs hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are not only limited to the renowned Oscars award ceremony. Before and after the Oscars season, the Academy hosts numerous events throughout the year.

These events often celebrate a sector of filmmaking or a film's anniversary. They may also celebrate an auteur filmmaker's birthday or screen-particular niches of movies from a specific era, genre, or country of origin and language.

For instance, the 94th Academy Awards led to the Oscar Week, which had events like A Makeup and Hairstyling Symposium, individual panel discussions for documentary makers, animated feature filmmakers, shot film directors, international feature filmmakers, etc.

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Main Academy Events

These events include the likes of Oscar Governors Ball, which is like a more formal after-party after the Academy Awards. Thus, while the unofficial Oscars after-party hosted by Vanity Fairs is open to Will Smith, for now, the star will not be able to join the official one for a decade.

Other events in the Oscar calendar include:

• Several movie screenings from their archives.
• A celebration of movie anniversary.
• Their annual industry-specific program, Careers in Film Summit.

How fans and the industry reacts to this decision by the Oscars remains to be seen.