The announcement that there would be 10 Best Picture nominees in 2009 ricocheted around the movie world late last week, only to be pretty much snuffed out as a conversation topic by the news of Michael Jackson’s death.

I’ve had it on the mental backburner this past week and am still have mixed feelings about it.

Primarily, it seems aimed at elasticizing the category in order to get more populist films in there and boosting the ratings.

1. If you thought that “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” couldn’t be any dumber, then hold your breath and check your brain cells at the door for this: “Transmorphers: Fall of Man.” Yes, it’s the long-awaited sequel to “Transmorphers” from those geniuses at the Asylum! Before you mock too hard, ask yourself (a) how much these guys spent on their Giant F---ing Robot Movie and (b) um, what, exactly is Michael Bay for again?

Hollywood’s going through a new Golden Age of comedy. But as funny as they are, we don’t owe thanks for this period of soda-out-the-nostrils mirth to the likes of Judd Apatow or Sacha Baron Cohen.

Rather, it’s an army of studio suits, corporate executives, jobbing screenwriters, vulgarian producers and wily agents who have me reliably LOL.

The most recent absolute crack-up -- and one they really should’ve announced on April 1 -- is that DreamWorks and Hasbro are circling each other for a movie based on View-Master.

 1. A couple weeks ago I mocked the idea of a David Fincher Facebook movie.

Next week the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Rightly so, because it was a feat made possible by political vision, scientific and industrial genius and, most importantly, truly awesome levels of human endurance, determination, creativity and courage.

Whatever else our failings as a species -- war, famine, the films of Joe Piscopo -- putting Neil Armstrong and Buzz Alrdin on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, is something of which we can be forever proud.

1. From the “too soon” department, Japanese company Hot Toys is releasing a “tribute” 12-inch Michael Jackson “Thriller” action figure … with interchangeable zombie head. Personally, I’m not too sure what was wrong with Hot Toys’ original 3-inch “Cosbaby” version of the Michael Jackson Thriller.

We are entering a dimension of both familiarity and surprise, of exhaustion and excitement, of vague hopes and managed expectation.

We’ve just crossed over into news that “The Twilight Zone” is to again be a movie: Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Bros. are bringing Rod Serling’s classic TV series to the silver screen.

My immediate thought on hearing this was that Leo is trying to win a new generation of tween fans by attaching himself to something with “Twilight” in the title.

Variety reports that Spirit Pictures is looking to revive King Kong, having acquired the rights to “Kong: King of Skull Island," the big-ape book by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland that was published in 2004.

Given that even Peter Jackson’s glittering, CGI-fuelled 2005 version of the story wasn’t a patch on the 1933 original, there’s reason to sniff at news of a prequel/sequel that explores the origins of Skull Island’s big gorillas, its dinosaurs and natives.

Two more reasons for skepticism?

1. Ridley Scott is to direct the “Alien” prequel, and that can only mean one thing: Russell Crowe is going to be kicking Giger-styled xenomorph-ass in outer space. Think about it: R&R have been a tag team for the better part of the decade and they need a hit. Their take on Robin Hood might do it, but “Alien Vs Gladiator”? Now that’d be awesome!