Oscar's Go From Five Best Picture Nominees To Ten

[Fan]

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The Academy Awards are doubling the number of best-picture nominees from five to 10.

Academy President Sid Ganis said at a news conference that the academy's board of governors made the decision to expand the slate. Ganis said the decision will open the field up to more worthy films for the top prize at Hollywood's biggest party.

The change takes effect with next year' Oscars on March 7.

The move is a return to Oscar traditions of the 1930s and '40s, when 10 nominees were common.

This really sets me off. Hasn't it been hard enough to find just five movies that are worthy of the 'Best Picture' prestige? Now they're going to try and find ten? I think it's absolutely ludicrous. Just five more chances for the judges to get it wrong, if you ask me.

[Hazzy]

Kinda devalues it. "Nominated for Best Picture" wont mean as much on posters and adverts anymore.

Depends what films they include though. If it's just so they can fit more blockbusters in or something then its stupid, but if they use the extra spaces to acknowledge some indy films or something, then could be good.

[The Headliner]

Who picks the nominees anyway, and what differentiates those people from those who pick the winners? What makes you qualified to do one and not the other?

[Fan]

The Academy has a voting membership of just under 6,000 people from the film industry. The biggest portion of people eligible to vote are actors, but directors, producers, etc. also have voters present. The academy does not release the names of its voters.

People from the respective field vote for nominees for that award. ie Actors vote for actors, actresses for actresses, directors for directors, etc. However, all active members of the voting community are allowed to submit nominees for Best Picture. After all the votes have been tallied, the five (now ten) most nominated films for Best Picture go on the ballot and every member of the voting community can vote for one winner. The rest is rather self-explanatory.

[Hazzy]

If everyone votes for best movie, then votes again for the winner - how many people would actually change their minds? The academy or whatever must know the results way before the actual winner is announced.

[Fan]

The voters submit five nominees the first time. Yeah, I'm sure by the first set of votes any intelligent person with access to the filled ballots would be able to tell what is going to win when the big night comes.

[The Headliner]

But I guess technically, if the top five or ten nominations weren't in the list you submitted, no one knows which of them you'll vote for now that you have to pick between only those. So it won't always be a case of sticking to your guns or changing your mind.