Big Oscar News

Whoa.....

Today the Academy announced that they would be expanding the list of Best Picture nominees to 10 each year instead of 5.

There were actually quite a few changes in the Academy's early years. In the Academy's first year (1928), there were only 3 nominees. Then 5 for a few years. Then 10 until 1943. Then 5 from 1943 until now.

So this is obviously a ploy to get more commercially successful films nominated and create more interest in the Academy (The Dark Knight snub from last year).

Here, for example, is the line-up from last year

2008

Nominated:
Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
The Reader
Frost/Nixon

My guess for the next 5:
The Dark Knight
Wall-E
Doubt
Revolutionary Road
The Wrestler

Hmmm, it would have been a much more diverse list.

And my guesses for 2007

Nominees:
No Country for Old Men
Juno
There Will Be Blood
Atonement
Michael Clayton

My guess for the next 5 (This year was a bit harder, with 2 clear runner-ups and some rather blind guesses).
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
Sweeny Todd-??
American Gangster-??
Ratatouille-??

This year was a bit harder, with 2 clear runner-ups and then some guesses.

Anyway, big news and it will make Oscar predicting quite interesting for 2009.