Top 10 Reasons Oscar's Ten 'Best Picture' Nominations is the Worst Idea Since Movie Theaters Started Running TV Commercials

Just because movie tickets now cost $10 is no reason to inflate the number of Oscar nominations for Best Picture to an unwieldy number like 10. Of course, that's probably not the reason for increasing the number of best picture Oscar nominations to 10, but it may as well be.

Increasing the number of Best Picture nominees to 10 is an upsell, like those giant buckets of popcorn and 64-ounce Cokes those innocent looking teenagers talk you into at the refreshments counter.

Ten Commandments? Great Concept! Ten Best Picture Nominations? Not so Much

In the widescreen world of Hollywood, more is better--or at least more lucrative. The amount of money 10 movies versus five will generate from producers promoting their movies, not to mention the additional revenue the movies will get from more screen time at the movie theaters, could help revive a flailing movie industry. Instead of buzz about five movies (four of which most people probably never heard of before), now there will be buzz about 10 obscure movies, over which most people will still shake their heads and say, "Huh?"

Here are the top 10 reasons why ten Oscar nominations for "Best Picture" is the worst idea since movie theaters started running TV commercials:

Reason #1: Hard to remember ten things

It is almost impossible to keep the names of 10 movies in your head. The average brain can remember five-plus-or-minus-two things at once, which is why remembering a phone number with an unfamiliar area code (10 digits) is so difficult.

Reason #2: Too many movies to see

It is difficult to see more than five movies in time for the Oscar awards show on TV. Many people like to go out and see all of the nominated movies they haven't seen yet before Oscar night so they have a favorite movie to root for, but they will now be discouraged by the enormity and expense of the task.

Reason #3: Oscar parties will be ruined

This may seem kind of lame, but some people like to make themed desserts to go with each of the "Best Picture" nominees (at least I have read about such people on foodie blogs). Making five desserts was hard enough, but ten? You'd need to hire a caterer.

Reason #4: The show will run too long

One of the best things about watching the Oscars (besides dishing on the fashions) is watching clips of the "Best Picture" nominees, but the show already runs way too long. Unless they start yanking boring people off stage with one of those talent show canes, the Oscars could run for six hours.

Reason #5: The prestige of the "Best Picture" nomination will be diminished.

It used to be that if your movie was nominated for "Best Picture" it was almost akin to winning the Oscar itself. But with 10 movies in the race, it's not such a big deal to be nominated any more. It's like a restaurant featuring half of its menu items as "specialties of the house."

Reason #6: Hard to compare apples to oranges

How do you compare a 3-D movie like Avatar which earned ten bazillion dollars (plus or minus two) with a tear jerker like Blind Side based on a real life family or a witty and sophisticated dramedy like Up in the Air. You can't. It's like asking, do you like lobster or cupcakes more? Instead of widening the field, the Oscar committee might have considered doing a 180 and breaking the "Best Picture" category down into smaller sub-categories, such as comedy and drama.

Reasons #s 7, 8, 9 an 10: Okay, so I ran out of reasons

It just goes to show how difficult it is to come up with more than five of anything. That includes the number of movies that should be nominated for a "Best Picture" Oscar!

Bonus: Ten movies nominated for 2009 Oscar for "Best Picture:"

Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

Source:
http://oscar-watch.ew.com/2010/02/02/oscar-nominations-announced/