Oscar Best Picture rules changed
Oscars bosses have changed the rules for Best Picture voting for next year – only films receiving at least five per cent of first place votes from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be nominated.
As a result, the Academy’s bosses have scrapped the 10-strong shortlist, replacing it with an ever-changing list of nominees.
A spokesman tells WENN, “The Board voted to institute a system that will now produce anywhere between five and 10 nominees in the category. That number won’t be announced until the Best Picture nominees themselves are revealed at the January nominations announcement.”
Academy president Tom Sherak adds, “We’ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years.”
The spokesman explains, “During the period studied, the average percentage of first place votes received by the top vote-getting movie was 20.5. After much analysis by Academy officials, it was determined that 5 per cent of first place votes should be the minimum in order to receive a nomination, resulting in a slate of anywhere from five to 10 movies.”
Retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis, who recommended the voting change, says, “In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies. A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit.
“If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honour in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”