The Oscars Change the Rules

[Joshua_me]

news [FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]Oscars doubling best-picture nominees to 10[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Sans-Serif]Email this Story[/FONT]Jun 24, 1:51 PM (ET)

By DAVID GERMAIN
[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif](AP) In this Jan. 22, 2009 file photo, actor Forest Whitaker, left, and Academy of Motion Picture...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]Full Image[/FONT]p BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - The Academy Awards are doubling the number of best-picture nominees from five to 10.
Academy President Sid Ganis said at a news conference that the academy's board of governors made the decision to expand the slate. Ganis said the decision will open the field up to more worthy films for the top prize at Hollywood's biggest party.
The change takes effect with next year' Oscars on March 7.
The move is a return to Oscar traditions of the 1930s and '40s, when 10 nominees were common.
Ganis said the board looked at last year's slate of films and decided there was room for more in the top category. "We nominated five, but there were many other great films last year," he said.
Among last year's most acclaimed movies was the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which wound up snubbed.
Ganis said the broader field also might make room for documentaries, foreign-language films, animated movies and even comedies, which typically do not fare well at the Oscars.
"Everybody says the academy will never nominate a comedy," Ganis said. "Well, maybe we will." Having 10 or more was common in Hollywood's golden age 60-70 years ago. Ganis noted that 1939's 10 best-picture nominees were "Gone With the Wind," which won, "The Wizard of Oz,""Stagecoach,""Wuthering Heights,""Love Affair,""Goodbye, Mr. Chips,""Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,""Of Mice and Men,""Dark Victory" and "Ninotchka." All are generally considered classics today.

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This is an interesting move, I wonder what the real thinking is behind it.

TEN films up for best picture ?? How strange ! I'm sure it's profit driven. It's good business to be able to advertise that your film is up for 'best picture', but it also somewhat cheapens the concept and the honor of it all...

I don't know.

Thoughts ?

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[braex27]

I think it's in response to criticism at their snubbing of The Dark Knight and Wall-E.

I agree Moe - if in expanding the list to 10 all we're gonna get are 10 nominees which long, boring and uninteresting then it's pointless...

The root of the problem rests not in the the number of nominee slots available, but the mindset of those who nominate!

 

[jcojax78]

I am going with the flow here. I think most will agree that the Oscar's needs a major overhaul. They are long, boring and drawn out and I hope this is not their solution to the problem. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

My personal thought for change is some new categories, like Best Comedy. There have been some great comedies over the years that have been snubbed: Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder are some recent ones. Just this dude's opinion.

 

[gsdx]

Being able to advertise a movie as "Nominated for Best Picture Oscar" has always been a box office draw. I think it's simply a ploy get people away from their big-screen televisions and back into the theatres to watch the movies.

 

[gaz1978]

Problem is, in a slow year, you're going to struggle to pick 10 good films and end up with mediocrity making up the numbers.

2008 was a great year, so 10 would have been fitting.

1995/1996 were terrible, so you can well imagine the shite that would have been picked!

 

[G-Lexington]

So now Land of the Lost gets a shot at it?

Lex

 

[steve621]

I think it cheapens the "nominated for the Oscar" attache (not sure if this is the word I want). Anyway, hopefully, they only use it when there are movies that are worthy.