If it existed, this one would win the "what in the world were they thinking" category. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced this morning that the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will feature 10 best picture nominees. The reason?"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."
Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke speculates that Hollywood studios have been pressuring AMPAS to allow more nominees, giving more films award attention to up their February profits. Plus, I bet AMPAS and ABC wished "The Dark Knight" had received a Best Picture nod, almost certainly leading to more fanboys watching the broadcast and giving it a ratings boost.
Whatever the reason, this absolutely waters down the nomination process. Why tune in at 5 a.m. to hear if you favorite film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar? It's almost a given that most good films are going to get in. Why not start by nominating 10 films, then announcing a few weeks later the final 5? The corrupt documentary category already does this and makes it more interesting.
I'm afraid the answer lies in the almighty $. More films + more attention = more money for everybody! Let's hope it doesn't mean a Best Picture Song & Dance number twice as long. I'm throwing up a little already.
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