Big Oscar changes

The 82nd Academy Awards will take place on March 7, 2010, and there are some big changes in store for the show. Instead of the usual five films being nominated for the Best Picture award, there will now be 10!

“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 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid 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.”

Casablanca was named Best Picture in 1943, the last year that 10 films were up for the award. I can see why they'd want to make this change. Bringing more films into the pot means more money and more viewers.

It is also rumored that there will no longer be a Best Original Song category. This is not cool, Ganis! The performances of the nominated songs is often very entertaining. A few previous winners include "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from Hustle & Flow, "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile, and, of course, "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic.