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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science
s this week announced that the 2010 Oscars will have twice the number of nominees vying to win the coveted best picture trophy. It will mark the first time since 1943 that 10 films will compete in the category.
"Having 10 best picture nominees is going (to) 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," Academy president Sid Ganis said during a news conference announcing the move.
While the expanded field could have helped last year's "The Dark Knight," which was shut out of the best picture race despite garnering nominations in eight other categories, the move completely diminishes what it means to be an Academy Award nominee.
Questioning the motives behind the move to 10 nominees, ratings for the Oscar telecast had to have been a factor. This year's Hugh Jackman-hosted show, produced by Larry Mark and Bill Condon ("Chicago," "Kinsey") was viewed by about 36.3 million, up 5 million year-over-year. An expanded number of films in the running will help Mark and Condon program the show much like they did this year, thus continuing to reach a wider audience. Or so they hope.
But the real question is will the wider field do anything to help bring a female-oriented film to the best picture category.
While this year's field did right by the LGBT community with Milk, which was nominated along with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, The Reader and eventual winner Slumdog Millionaire, it's rare to have that female-ensemble cast pic wind up among the Prized Five nominees.
A quick glance at upcoming releases, however, shows a few hopefuls: Amelia starring Hilary Swank as ill-fated pilot Amelia Earhart; Julie & Julia, starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in a coronary tale about Julia Child; My Own Love Song, with Renee Zellweger cast as a wheelchair-bound former singer on a road trip to Memphis; Precious, about a pregnant woman trying to escape a mother (Mo'Nique) who's using her to cheat the welfare system; and The Tempest, with Helen Mirren in the gender-switched Shakespeare tale directed by Julie Taymor (Frida).
We'll have to wait and see what happens when nominations when the 82nd Annual Academy Awards are announced Feb. 2.
But one thing is true: media advertising venues -- print, online, broadcast, TV, etc. -- are cheering the move and stand to benefit the most.
