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loopydate
06-28-2009, 07:02 PM
82nd Academy Awards® to Feature 10 Best Picture Nominees

Beverly Hills, CA (June 24, 2009) — The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.
“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”
For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)
Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”
“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”
The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Obviously, this is a concession to the people who have been upset that in recent years the Oscars have concentrated solely on high-end "Oscar bait" films while ignoring populist "genre" films. Granted, it's a year too late to honor the fantastic "WALL*E" and "The Dark Knight," but it's a good start.

If you feel like it, go ahead and add your picks for expanded nominee lists for years past. IMDB has lists of all the past Oscars nominees, so feel free to expand. Otherwise, just discuss this announcement by the Academy.

loopydate
06-28-2009, 07:31 PM
I'm just adding to the existing lists here. My additions to the nominees are italicized.

2009
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL*E
The Wrestler

2008
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Gone Baby Gone
Into The Wild
Juno
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
No Country For Old Men
There Will Be Blood

2007
Babel
Casino Royale
Children of Men
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Lives of Others
Pan's Labyrinth
The Prestige
The Queen

2006
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Cinderella Man
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Sin City
Thank You For Smoking (although I badly wanted to put Serenity)
V For Vendetta

thedamndest
06-28-2009, 10:01 PM
Seems like this is a great way to add "Academy Award Nominee" to five more DVDs per year, but I don't think that they will all really be Best Picture-worthy films.

Dave Youell
06-29-2009, 08:00 AM
Loopy

I'm stood up and applauding you right now, great list