Academy Mixes Things Up by Nominating 10 for Top Honor

"It's going to quadruple the amount of ads -- especially for all the foreign films and independent films who never had a reason to spend the money."

Sony Pictures Classics is another company that stands to benefit greatly, but president Tom Bernard doesn't see any additional boon regarding the advertising business.

"I just think that print doesn’t have the impact it once had," he said. "But you’ll see a lot of it on the Internet -- it’s where people get the news now. It’s what the industry reads during the day."

One of the many issues after Wednesday's decision is that the 5,800 members of the Academy that vote fo Best Picture will feel overwhelmed by the number of films they'll be expected to screen -- often in their own living rooms via the screeners that indies and studios have relied on so heavily.

Murray Weissman, who runs his own public relations company and has been a member of the Academy for 30 years, says he doesn't mind at all.

"I have no problem watching more films," he said. "I'll be watching the better films if they surface to the top 10. I think it's one of the most progressive moves in decades. The only negative would be, as they produce the show, they have to get these 10 nominations in without it being a marathon."

But, says Bernard, "If 35 movies show up in your house at Christmas, it’ll be difficult to get people to put them all in. How are you going to get people to watch them?"

As for the business implications of the Academy's decision, Bernard thinks the DVD distribution will be affected, and more DVDs will be rushed into release in the winter, to build buzz for the nomination process. "Companies will gear their DVDs to come out during the campaign season."

One category that stands to benefit from Wednesday's decision in a big way is animation, which as a whole, has been a topic of debate. Only once -- in 1991 for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” -- has an animated film been nominated for Best Picture.

The animated feature category was established in 2002; last year, Pixar’s "Wall-E” won that Oscar, and there has already been speculation that if “Wall-E” could not make the cut, Pixar’s critical success “Up” would similarly face an uphill battle this coming season. As would DreamWorks' "Monsters vs. Aliens" and Disney's "Ponyo" and "A Christmas Carol." 
 

"It's hard to say at this stage what it all means, but it would be extremely gratifying if it translated into more opportunities for animated movies," said Jasmine Madatian, senior vp at Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures who handles all Oscar issues for the studio.

Even some award winners seem OK with the idea. “It is opening the possibilities for more films -- and increasing interest in the awards and the films. I think this will translate into higher box office,” said three-time Oscar winning sound mixer Michael Minkler, who serves on the Sound Branch Executive Committee.

Historically speaking, Wednesday's decision was already in the Academy's DNA. From 1932-1943, the Academy nominated 10 pictures for the category.

The discussions to expand the nominations began during the review process after February's Oscar telecast.

The Board of Governors has a 15-person committee that considers rule changes every spring and recommends them to the entire board at the June meeting.

One of the Governors involved in the discussion on the committee level says that when the idea of expanding the field was raised, it was quickly embraced as a simple way to have a wider and more appealing group of nominees.

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