The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences surprised the movie world Wednesday by announcing it would double the number of nominees for best picture from five to ten.
Academy president Sid Ganis announced the change at a press conference, saying the move is a return to Oscar’s roots.
‘After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,’ said Ganis. ‘The final outcome, of course, will be the same ‘ one Best Picture winner ‘ but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.’
The move was widely seen as a way to generate interest in the best picture race, which last year was criticized for omitting well-made popular films such as WALL’E and The Dark Knight in favor of little-seen arthouse fare such as The Reader.
Ganis denied that the move was an attempt to boost interest ‘ and TV ratings ‘ for the annual Oscar telecast.
The move most likely will benefit popular films that in recent years have failed to make the nomination cut, as well as be a boon for news outlets and trade publications that will have a wider pool of potential advertisers to sell to.
The decision is likely a mixed bag for animated features. The animated feature category was created largely because only one animated film in Oscar history ‘ Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 1991 ‘ has been nominated for best picture.
Opening up the best picture field to 10 nominees means the top animated features likely will make the cut, raising the question of whether the Academy could dump the animated feature category entirely.
The category is set to continue this year, but journalist David Poland reports on his Hot Blog that serious consideration was given to dropping the animated feature award and its odds of vanishing will increase if it’s seen as diminishing the odds of a film like Up from making the best picture list.
