Oscar’s best picture nominees expand to 10
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 26, 2009 00:00
LOS ANGELES - The race for the best picture Oscar at next year's Academy Awards will feature a bumper crop of 10 films after organizers announced they were doubling the number of nominees Wednesday.
In a move designed to broaden competition for the movie industry's most coveted award, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, or AMPAS, President Sid Ganis said the expansion was a throwback to the early years of the Oscars.
For more than a decade during the 1930s and 1940s, the best picture category featured more than five films, and in nine years the field included 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards in 1943 was the last year to include a field of 10 films, and the Oscar for best picture then went to "Casablanca."
"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," Ganis said. "The final outcome will be the same but the race to the finish line will feature 10, from 2009."
Oscar pundits said the expansion was almost certainly intended to help boost television ratings for the awards show, which increased by 13 percent this year after hitting a record low in 2008. Ganis meanwhile said the increase could allow for documentaries, foreign language or animated films to enter the running for the top honor.
The decision to increase the field for the 82nd Academy Awards comes after this year's awards saw Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" controversially overlooked for a nomination.
For more than a decade during the 1930s and 1940s, the best picture category featured more than five films, and in nine years the field included 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards in 1943 was the last year to include a field of 10 films, and the Oscar for best picture then went to "Casablanca."
"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," Ganis said. "The final outcome will be the same but the race to the finish line will feature 10, from 2009."
Oscar pundits said the expansion was almost certainly intended to help boost television ratings for the awards show, which increased by 13 percent this year after hitting a record low in 2008. Ganis meanwhile said the increase could allow for documentaries, foreign language or animated films to enter the running for the top honor.
The decision to increase the field for the 82nd Academy Awards comes after this year's awards saw Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" controversially overlooked for a nomination.