As enticing as Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day 2010 prediction might have been (6 more weeks of winter), the more shocking revelation of February 2nd was the Academy’s decision to open up the Best Picture Nominee list to include 10 pictures-Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Bastards, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air. In the following video, Academy President Sid Ganis explains the board’s resolution to “return to a past Academy tradition.”
Yes, 1939 saw the nomination of 10 great films-Dark Victory, Gone with the Wind, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights. As Ganis points out, these movies varied greatly in genre: historical epics, a Western, a comedy, etc. So too do the nominees this year. He continues to defend the Academy’s decision to return to 10 films by citing that in most years from 1931 to 1943, the Academy had included 10 nominees, one year including as many as 12 nominees. Instead of the typical 5 nominees that has become customary, beginning with this 82nd Academy Award season, 10 movies will be up for Best Picture. The Academy “will be casting [its] net wider. In casting that net wider, who knows what will turn up?”
I think the fear in opening the playing field is just that. What’s going to happen? Could this dilute the category? Certainly being 1 of 10 nominees does not hold the exclusivity of being 1 of 5. Nevertheless, as Ganis acknowledges, winning the Best Picture category is “the pinnacle of an honor for a motion picture, and it is a singular honor.”
Over the past few years, I have made a genuine effort to see all Best Picture nominees, but needing to see 10 films is rather daunting. At the same time, opening the category to more films has the potential to entice more viewers to watch the Oscars on March 7th. Casting the net wider for nominees acts as a great opportunity to broaden the audience of people watching the Oscars. Typically, Oscar nods help any movie’s box office. Perhaps opening up the Best Picture category is exactly what the industry needs. With the recent trend of shrinkage (Miramax studios recently closed and many studios, such as Sony, are in the process of shrinking departments), casting a wider net may help the business grow.
Projections 