Oscars: 10 Best Picture Nominees

I think this is a big mistake.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- The Academy Awards are doubling the number of best-picture nominees from five to 10.

Academy President Sid Ganis said at a news conference that the academy's board of governors made the decision to expand the slate. Ganis said the decision will open the field up to more worthy films for the top prize at Hollywood's biggest party.

...The move is a return to Oscar traditions of the 1930s and '40s, when 10 nominees were common.

So the academy board of governors thinks it's a good idea to go back to the tradition of 70 or 80 years ago.

Maybe the academy's board can influence filmmakers to give up on Talkies and go back to the tradition of the silent screen. (Sound is so overrated.)

If the board thinks that expanding the field of nominees will drum up interest in the Oscars and bring in more viewers to the awards show, then I think that's nuts.

If the board believes that having 10 Best Picture nominees will help to avoid controversy and allow for the inclusion of movies popular with the public that are usually overlooked for the more artistic types, then I think it's a cheap stunt.

This move waters down the honor of a Best Picture nomination, such that it is. It's muddying the field.

So many movies getting a nomination means none are truly honored. I don't think devaluing a nomination is a good idea.