10s a crowd?

"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," academy President Sid Ganis said yesterday. "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."

HMMM????????

How does this make me feel as an Academy Award purist?

I understand why the Academy has done this. 10 is more than 5. There are now 5 more movies that can advertise that they are a BEST PICTURE NOMINEE. It's good for box office and DVD sales and rentals.

It is also great for Oscar ratings because more stars of the 10 Nominated Best Pictures will be invited and feel a need to have to show up to support their films.

Also with 10 Best Picture nominees chances are more popcorn blockbusters will be nominated for the top award and more of middle America will have seen these films.

I guess it's not really that bad.
But there was a certain prestige about being one of the 5 nominated pictures of the year. Now that the categories has upped its nominees by 50%, it does cheapen the prestige just a bit in my opinion.

I also wonder what sort of films will now have the chance to get into Best Picture. Will it feel like the MTV Movie Awards with titles like Iron Man slipping in?

However looking back over the past five years, I can't help feel sorry for films that definitely would have made the cut had their been 10 nominees in their respective years:

Looking back here are the titles I assume would have made the cut:
2008:
Wall E
The Wrestler
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Changeling
2007:
Into to The Wild
Sweeney Todd
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Once
Away From Her

2006:
United 93
Dreamgirls
Pan's Labyrinthe
Children of Men
The Last King of Scotland
2005:
A History of Violence
Walk the Line
The Constant Gardener
King Kong
The Squid and the Whale
2004:
Vera Drake
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Hotel Rwanda
The Incredibles
Kinsey

So what does this mean to 2009's Oscar race. Well it certainly bodes well for Nine to get into the top ten. And here's hoping that PIXAR gets a long overdue Best Picture nomination for UP! which is the best film I've seen so far this year.