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When the Academy announced last June that it would be expanding the Best Picture category from five to ten films, my first thought was: maybe The Hurt Locker](http://www.cinematical.com/2008/09/13/tiff-review-the-hurt-locker/) has a shot to be nominated now. At the time, I was pretty sure I was in for a fight to help promote my favorite film of 2009, but a good buzz took hold and hasn’t yet let up. But that first hope was also a good first impulse. Maybe the list of ten nominees would include some of the offbeat films that don’t usually get considered. It might be a good chance to nominate the kinds of things that were snubbed in the past: some comedies like Tropic Thunder](http://www.cinematical.com/2008/08/12/review-tropic-thunder/) or Hot Fuzz](http://www.cinematical.com/2007/04/20/review-hot-fuzz/), or some exceptional summer action movies like The Dark Knight](http://www.cinematical.com/2008/07/17/review-the-dark-knight-scotts-take/) or The Bourne Ultimatum](http://www.cinematical.com/2007/08/03/review-the-bourne-ultimatum-scotts-review/). Or perhaps some odd indie movies like Che](http://www.cinematical.com/2008/05/21/cannes-review-che/) or Wendy and Lucy](http://www.cinematical.com/2008/05/26/cannes-review-wendy-and-lucy/).
But then the reality set in. This would require the Academy to adopt an entirely new way of thinking, not just the simple changing of a number. Indeed, everything that is nominated this year fits a certain criteria; they’re not actually picking the best films of the year. They’re picking the best of a certain kind of film. It has to be prestigious in some way. It has to be somewhat important, either with a message or in tackling a certain kind of serious problem. If it’s a comedy, it has to be a bittersweet comedy and not a flat-out funny comedy. It can’t be a genre film unless it’s a very long one or a hugely popular one, and it can’t be a sequel (or a reboot; hence the snub for Star Trek](http://www.cinematical.com/2009/05/07/review-star-trek/)).
Continue reading Discuss: Do You Like the “Ten Best Picture Nominees” Idea?