Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences made the unexpected announcement that next year's Oscars will include 10 Best Picture nominees instead of the traditional five. Yesterday, Variety reported that the Academy will make two more changes that deviate considerably from the norm.
The first change involves the Best Song categories. Up until this point, there were always at least three nominations each year, with voters rating possible nominees on a scale of 6 to 10. However, the new rules state that if no song in a given year earns at least an 8.25, there will be no nominees that year. If at least one song achieves this minimum score, then it will be nominated as will the song with the second-highest score. As in previous years, there will be a maximum of five nominees per ceremony.
The Academy's changes come at the recommendation of members the music industry, who wish to see a more accurate and fair representation of movie music in a given year. Variety cited Eddie Vedder and Bruce Springsteen as artists who were unfairly shut out of consideration for nomination (for Into the Wild and The Wrestler, respectively).
The other big change involves several honorary awards, including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Instead of being included in the main Oscar-night telecast, these awards will now be presented at an invitation-only black-tie event in November. This allows the Academy to select more recipients each year, as it will not have to worry about the time constraints of a live broadcast.