Which Movies Would Have Snagged Those 5 Extra Nominations Last Year?
Everyone seems to think that the Academy's expansion of the Best Picture category to ten nominees is a direct rebuttal to last year's crop. So, then, it's reasonable to ask: Had this rule been around last year, what additional five nominees would have been added to the category? And would they have made a difference on who won?
Two of the biggest, most ostensibly populist films would certainly have popped through: the beloved Wall-E and The Dark Knight, which had shown industry muscle at the PGA and DGA.
Past that, I think the only lock would have been Doubt, which saw all four of its actors nominated and was surely hovering outside the top five.
Revolutionary Road had been tipped for Oscar nominations, but was ultimately rejected in almost all major categories. An expansion in Best Picture could have seen it nominated, but the film's weak showing elsewhere revealed a lack of ardent partisans. The Wrestler, on the other hand, had a passionate (though younger) fanbase within the Academy that might have been able to jam it into contention, if given the opportunity.
So which film would have snagged that tenth slot? Had studios been given enough warning, I'm fairly certain the Weinstein Company could have helped their well-regarded Vicky Christina Barcelona go the distance.
Now, would any of those films have made a difference on the final winner, Slumdog Millionaire? Haha, no. That film had a stranglehold on the top slot through the entire awards season, and none of the five newcomers would have had a shot at unseating it. A more vulnerable contender might have seen its votes siphoned away by the larger crop of nominees, but Slumdog wasn't it. Will this year's frontrunner befall that fate? We'll see!
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
How about doing like they did in the 1930s and '40s and having between 8 and 12 Best Picture nominees? That'd sure stir up the advertising campaigns and make the lead up more exciting, as opposed to the new system where sentiment now will lean to "Oh, with 10 slots, X, Y and Z are sure to scrape in".
Using the floating number, in my opinion last year's nominees should've been...
Benjamin Button
Slumdog
Frost/Nixon
The Wrestler
Wall E
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Milk
Of course, the other thing I'm amped about is that my end-of-year Top 10 list can now have 20 movies!
As an audience-getter, this could really work. One of the complaints I hear all the time about Best Picture nominees is "I don't want to see any of those movies!" If there were more movies nominated, that may turn into "I gotta like at least one of those movies. I'll try Rochelle, Rochelle."
I think if WALL-E and THE DARK KNIGHT were nominated along with other, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE would not have won...coz i don't think it deserve to be BEST PICTURE
Gran Torino anyone?
Slumdog Millionaire is an awesome film, though either Wall-E or The Dark Knight would have given the movie a run for its money.
Gran Torino would have been in. superb movie and one of the few it's okay for men to cry at the end of.
The Fall
In Bruges
Wall-E
Synecdoche, New York
Happy Go Lucky
I also agree with crying at the end of Gran Torino.