New Oscar rules give Pixar and sci-fi a shot

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that, from here on, ten films will be nominated for the best-picture Oscar each year instead of five. This used to be the norm; the Academy thinned the field to five beginning with the 1945 ceremony, in which Bing Crosby's "Going My Way" topped a field that included the film noir classic "Double Indemnity."

Why is the Academy doing this now? It would seem to be a direct nod to the public reaction to this year's nominees, particularly from the Internet: How could "The Dark Knight" and "WALL•E" not be on the list?

The ommission of popular favorites -- or, in the case of those two films, popular and critical favorites that don't fit the best-picture mold -- from Oscar's final cut has long been blamed for flagging ratings for the awards show, even though crowd-pleasing hits like "Return of the King," "A Beautiful Mind," "Chicago," "Slumdog Millionaire" and, of course, "Titanic" have all won the top prize in the last decade or so. But now the field could have two, three, four or more big hits in the mix, which gives fanboys more of an incentive to watch.

Considering the usual rush of Oscar contenders in the fall and winter, would you have banked on a five-film race next year that included "Up," "Star Trek" or "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"? No way.

But, assuming that "HP6" will live up to expectations, all three of those films now have a legitimate shot at making the cut. Heck, if there are enough Trekkers and J.J. Abrams acolytes in the voting block, "Star Trek" could even win -- which would then destroy the ten-film field's credibility with the critical community, the blogosphere, and a large portion of the voting block. Oh, what fun this will be for blog-watchers like me!

Ultimately, making fanboys feel better means very little here. More best picture nominees means more theatrical re-releases, more "For Your Consideration" ads, more DVDs that can put the words "Best Picture Nominee" on their covers, more advertising dollars spent on the Oscars telecast ... this move is not about honoring a wider range of films, but about making more money. And isn't that what the Oscars have always been about, anyways?

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My Very Early Prediction for Best Picture, 2009:
Click on title for info

"Amelia"
"Avatar"
"Funny People"
"The Hurt Locker"
"The Informant"
"Invictus"
"Nine"
"Shutter Island"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"

"Invictus," which stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and is directed by Clint Eastwood, must be considered the front-runner, sight unseen, at this early stage. Pretty much anything with Eastwood's name on it would be, although I am very glad "Gran Torino" wasn't in the mix this year at the Oscars. (Why does everyone like that lame, poorly written mess of a film?)