What a shock! For the first time since 1943, there will be ten Oscar nominees for Best Picture and not five. The 2010 Academy Awards will have 10 movies in the Best Picture category. Wow– that was way out of left field.
It’s a little late for “The Dark Knight” and “Wall-E,” but at least everyone can stop wondering whether Pixar’s “Up” will get a Best Picture nomination next year, because it’s pretty much guaranteed now. I actually like this idea a lot because it opens the door for a lot of edgier movies (like “The Wrestler,” last year’s best movie) to get the “big guns” nomination that they deserve. On the other hand, this is going to seriously throw off Oscar prediction pools and allow a niche movie to possibly take home the big prize!
NYTimes’ Media Decoder is reporting that in a Q&A session that followed the announcement, AMPAS president Sid Ganis said: “I would not be telling you the truth if I said the words ‘Dark Knight’ did not come up.”
More thoughts: Will this make choosing the best movie of the year easier? I don’t think so. If anything, it’ll make it harder. So we’ll have a worse winner (although it doesn’t get much worse than “Crash), but they’ll nominate some better films in the process (which will all split the vote so something mediocre and inoffensive can win)! Feeling queasy again…
From Oscars.org:
Beverly Hills, CA (June 24, 2009) — The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.
“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.”
For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)
Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”
“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”
The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of Scene-Stealers.com, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and contributor for The Pitch. He’s former President of the KCFCC, and drummer for The Dead Girls, Ultimate Fakebook, and Truck Stop Love . He is also the 2013 Air Guitar World Champion Mean Melin, ranked 4th best of all-time. Eric goes to 11. Follow him at:
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So the academy is coming into the 21 century. It’s the right thing to do as we have many more films being made each year than were made 60 years ago. Perhaps they should review all of their old policies.
So the academy is coming into the 21 century. It’s the right thing to do as we have many more films being made each year than were made 60 years ago. Perhaps they should review all of their old policies.
Note that if they’d done this last year, it would have changed the winner.
Note that if they’d done this last year, it would have changed the winner.
maybe they should concentrate on nominating better films first time round instead of nominating mediocre or just above average films then realizing that there was only one good one out of their list of five. Like last year when Slumdog Millionaire was the only deserving film to be nominated.
maybe they should concentrate on nominating better films first time round instead of nominating mediocre or just above average films then realizing that there was only one good one out of their list of five. Like last year when Slumdog Millionaire was the only deserving film to be nominated.
hopefully we may get some comedies into the mix as well next year, but I’m also interested to see whether that will mean more or less campaigning from certain producers and whether the campaigning will be more or less effective
hopefully we may get some comedies into the mix as well next year, but I’m also interested to see whether that will mean more or less campaigning from certain producers and whether the campaigning will be more or less effective
I do not like this idea of ten best films.
1st are there really 10 movies good enough to be nominated? I’d understand if it was up to ten, that way like last year where there were 6 (I exclude button from my list) that were definitely worthy of nomination.
2nd will they be doing the Oscar showcase? The day before the Oscars we sit in a theater for 15 hours and watch the 5 nominated, there is no way the day before they can show all ten. Are they breaking it up into two days/weekends? Or stop it all together?
On a side note about up, there is a category for best-animated film, so it being up in the best picture category it would have the chance of winning two best pictures.
I do not like this idea of ten best films.
1st are there really 10 movies good enough to be nominated? I’d understand if it was up to ten, that way like last year where there were 6 (I exclude button from my list) that were definitely worthy of nomination.
2nd will they be doing the Oscar showcase? The day before the Oscars we sit in a theater for 15 hours and watch the 5 nominated, there is no way the day before they can show all ten. Are they breaking it up into two days/weekends? Or stop it all together?
On a side note about up, there is a category for best-animated film, so it being up in the best picture category it would have the chance of winning two best pictures.
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