Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun?

The Academy has announced they are doubling the number of Best Picture nominees:

“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,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

This is a reversal of their policy since 1944 of restricting the number of nominees to five. Generally, I think expanding the Best Picture field is a good thing, though I worry that an additional five films may be too many and I worry about diluting the honor of being nominated. 

Now, obviously I understand the motive behind this. Of the five nominees last year, I only saw one of these movies theatrically, and this is someone who saw 20 movies in theaters! This is clearly aimed at giving people like me a reason to watch the Oscars (all the way to the end? <gasp!>). People who were shocked and appalled that The Dark Knight and Wall-E were not nominated for Best Picture would be more likely to watch the Oscars if these films had been nominated. 

I am clearly not in agreement with the Academy in terms of the movies they nominate and give awards to, and this may give me more incentive to watch (a bigger incentive would be brining back Hugh Jackman as host). However, I fear that these "extra" films will not have much of a change at actually winning. My problem with the Academy is not necessarily the number of films they pick, but the circumstances that cause them to nominate the films they nominate. 

Actors are the largest single voting bloc by far with approximately 22%, which leads to character-driven dramas getting the most acclaim. Films seemingly about visual spectacle like Wall-E, or Across the Universe,  hardly get nominated because actors like films 'about' them, films where the acting is the spectacle (like Milk or Frost/Nixon). Its not like I dislike these movies as a rule, but it feels like the same kinds of films are always getting nominated. 

To make a long story short (too late), I think it's nice to see the Academy reacting at all to the public and I think they may have a real opportunity to shake things up with this.