Oscar Best Pictures nomination list expanded from five to ten

LOL at this quote on another message board: "This is the greatest day of Ed Zwick's life."

^ooooooh

(tho I really think he'd need 20)

It's funny how everyone's in agreement that this is a bald attempt to get a few more People's Choice Awards-type candidates in the mix. I've already seen some apparently very serious suggestions that Star Trek and The Hangover might end up in competition next February.

You guys do know they had ten nominees in the '30s, right?

the big 5 studios released around 50 pix a year back then, plus columbia/universal/UA releasing dozens more. even factoring out b-movies (which in retrospect were often as worthy)you still had a much bigger pool from which to choose. but whatever the numbers they always make dumb choices anyway, but 10 in this era is just o_O

This is actually appropriate if they start being dicks and allow (all) foreign movies to compete for best picture.

err. stop being dicks.

well, since "the studios" are aesthetically somnambulant, the more relevant number is that 650 films were released (in NYC, at least) last year. Of course, the Academy Awards exists to promote Hollywood and American commercial films (that play in LA). i just don't care.

This just creates more "buzz" about awards and marketing, not cinema; include me out.

xpost ... and docs and legitimately indie indies, yeah.

Yay, marketing! Can't wait for the screeners! Way to find the silver lining, Morbs.

From the sky-is-falling dept.

I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING! OK...bcuz there are now 10 best picture nominees...30 producers will be nominated. That's more than the 20 actors that are nominated. If this thing lasts over time there will be more producers in the Academy then actors which means that producers will have the largest voting block now...

this...scares...me...

Patrick Goldstein chides all you nervous nellies -- in a way that makes me question his sanity.

It's funny how everyone's in agreement that this is a bald attempt to get a few more People's Choice Awards-type candidates in the mix.

I'm not sure that's even on the minds of the Academy. I think they simply want more people to watch the show, therefore more familiar movies, more familiar actors in those familiar movies (Javier who? Marion who?), etc. etc. Major studios are happy because they can offset some of their marketing costs to Academy promo.

The Hangover I still can't imagine, but "from the Academy Award-nominated guys who brought you Drillbit Taylor and The Year One" in the ads for the Forgetting Sarah Marshall sequel next year is definitely soooo on

Also, consider what adding more nominees might do to the voting patterns. One of the problems with the Oscars every year is that by the time the telecast rolls around, months of best-of lists and other award shows have led to a fair amount of fatigue with the recurring set of winners. In theory, giving the Academy members more choices might lead to upsets, since it'll allow the voters to veer away from the frontrunners everyone's already sick of. In actuality, what's more likely to happen is that all the dark horses will beat each other back, and the frontrunner will become even more of a foregone conclusion.

This is good news for the torrent industry. Twice the downloads!

...expanded from anywhere between five to ten. The tension etc.