The visual effects branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to expand from three to five the number of nominees for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, Variety reports.
If approved by the academy’s rules committee and the board of governors, the change would take effect with the 2011 Oscar ceremony.
The move was approved at the branch meeting last Thursday, amid heated debate on the move, the trade reports. The change was reportedly supported by the Visual Effecst Society and some of the larger visual effects companies.
Arguments against the expansion are that it will decrease the likelihood that the most cutting-edge work will win and that with four people per movie getting a nomination that the value of being a nominee will be diluted.
How the move will affect the nomination process and the bakeoff has yet to be determined.
