No, we’re not asking for donations at Mamacoke (yet). Instead I’m talking about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences decision to increase the number of nominees in the “Best Picture” category from five to ten.
While there is historical precedent for ten Best Picture nominees (they last did it in 1943), it begs the question – why change it back now? This move seems like nothing more than a way to generate additional box office revenue. A Best Picture nod can be the difference between total obscurity and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in receipts for a film. Why only limit those cash cows to five when you can double the number?
Given how many of the other top categories (Best Actor, Best Director, etc.) are sticking with five nominees, I wonder if we’ll begin to see films nominated for a host of relatively obscure awards with a Best Picture tag added on. One genre of film this will certainly benefit is animation. With the critical and commercial success of movies such as “Up” it gives the Academy more areas to recognize (i.e. profit from).
To play devil’s advocate (even though I agree with you), there are films that are done a huge disservice by the limited number of categories – Gran Torino last year, for example. I doubt they need to increase the number to ten, but the Academy’s selection criteria is inconsistent enough that the increased number of nominees doesn’t necessarily diminish the prestige of the nomination.