This One Goes To 10

By increasing the number of Best Picture nominees from 5 to 10 the Academy of Motion Picture blah blah has virtually guaranteed the inclusion of some universally beloved hit like The Dark Knight or (this year's most likely so far) Up. Given the Academy's love affair with Pixar it seems reasonable to assume that the studio will have a slot among the 10 for the foreseeable future; what does this do to the Animated Film Oscar? More importantly, to change seems likely to only further confuse the mass audience the Academy is desperately trying to woo. The Dark Knight was an exception; yes, Transformers will make a hell of a lot of money but there's zero chance it will seize the culture in the way the Heath Ledger-driven Batman reboot did last year. (The most likely blockbuster to snag a nomination would at first pass be James Cameron's Avatar) The most likely scenario is an animated film (probably Pixar), a couple of "Oscar-bait" dramas a la The Changeling, maybe a superior genre work (fingers crossed, Michael Mann!), the odd foreign language choice, and at best a couple of popular hits. The result? Audiences with the same amount of free time will be even more frustrated because they can't see all the movies due to time or lack of access. Oh, and remember that the voters haven't changed - will their taste get any more interesting because there are twice as many nominees to choose from?