...at least for now, according to this talk with the President of the Academy. The story can be found here, but this is the highlight:It should come as no surprise given how generally well-received the Best Picture lineup has been, but the move to 10 nominees will likely continue for another year, Academy president Tom Sherak said on Wednesday. Some changes, he added, might be made in an attempt to broaden the field.
Speaking in his office after the morning mailing of final Oscar ballots, the first-term AMPAS president said that the Academy was happy with the results of the expanded field … for now.
“I don’t know if it’s a success yet,” he said. “But so far, yes, we’re happy. I don’t think there’s any question about that. So far. And I expect we’ll do it for another year.”
He laughed. “Some people have said, ‘Well, they got lucky.’ I love that comment. In fact, the voters gave us everything we were hoping for when we made the change, except a foreign film or a documentary.”On that count, Sherak says he’s determined to find a way to get those films into the Best Picture race, and to increase their visibility.
“There are things in the works to address that,” he said. “I don’t know how much I can achieve, but I’m going to keep working on it.”
One key to the Oscar show, he said, is getting viewers “invested in these movies – the big ones and the little ones. So how do you get something from Peru into Des Moines? We have to work on that.”
-Thoughts?
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I wish I could offer an idea, but all I can do is express how ecstatic I am that Sherak is working to address the lack of representation of foreign language films (shouldn't be hard, others have done it in the past with just five available spots) and documentaries (a tougher challenge; if Hoop Dreams couldn't even get in, what will?). It shows that he cares about the integrity of the ceremony and not just ratings.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt it. I don't want a film to get in just because it's a certain type of film, just like we bemoan the instances when something gets in simply because it's perceived to be a "prestige" flick. That being said, if a documentary of foreign film is worthy, it should undoubtedly get nominated...
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