In 2000, the Tony Awards added a fifth place to the acting categories (provided there are enough nominees), and just five years later they added one to the directing categories. The Emmy Awards grew nominees from five starting in 2009 and have included as many as eight nominees in a category in recent years. The Critics Choice Awards, eager to honor as many potential Oscar nominees as possible, grew to six acting and directing nominees a few years ago, and this year it suddenly bumped the directing category up to 10.
So why have the Oscars mostly stuck to the five-a-category stance they’ve employed for decades?
The Academy doubled its Best Picture category to 10 nominees in 2009, switched to a variable number (in practice, always eight or nine) two years later, and then returned to a guaranteed 10 last year. Its initial move was largely driven by outcry over the scorn of critically acclaimed and broad-appeal Hollywood films, most notably Christopher Nolan’s 2008 “The Dark Knight.”
But it’s still the only Oscar category with that allocation, which seems odd given that there can be years where more than 200 movies are playing, with many more performances to consider, and many of the post-2009 entries have included a lots of great performances. , often in international and independent films that really could have used that remarkable momentum.
The Golden Globes, which have long held separate Best Picture and Lead Performance categories for dramas and comedies, realized the drawbacks of only having five directing nominees this year: Already reeling from criticism that forced them to change its rules and expanding its membership, raised a new protest when its directing category did not include a single woman, leaving out Sarah Polley for “Women Talking” and Gina Prince-Bythewood for “The Woman King.”
That may be one reason the Critics Choice Awards abruptly doubled the size of its directing category when they announced their nominees two days after the Globes. Both Polley and Prince-Bythewood were included, making the CCA look good (if rather calculating).
And soon it will be the Academy’s turn to sweat the potential dangers of nominating just five directors.
The practice of sticking to a handful of nominations in most major categories has also created the “El Sexto” theory, in which much-loved, never-nominated talents are often believed to have slightly missed their opportunity. in Oscar glory. Famous names associated with “The Sixth” include Cameron Diaz (“Being John Malkovich,” “Vanilla Sky”), Steve Buscemi (“Ghost World”), Richard Gere (“Chicago”), Tiffany Haddish (“Girls Trip” ), John Leguizamo (“To Wong Foo, thanks for everything! Julie Newmar”) Song Kang-ho (“Parasite”), Awkwafina (“The Farewell”) and John Turturro (“Quiz Show”) among many others.
The expansion of category nominees could also prove useful in elevating the efforts of actors and directors working in sci-fi/horror genres, which except for a few precious titles (“The Exorcist” and “The Silence of the Lambs ” between them) are often overlooked entirely. Doing so could have improved the visibility of recent great performances, especially by women, such as Essie Davis in “The Babadook”, Toni Collette in “Hereditary” or Amy Adams in “Arrival”, the latter arguably the most famous example of “The Sixth”. .
(And let’s not even get started on “Arrival” director Denis Villeneuve’s snub for “Dune” in the directing category last year – again, a prime example of how the five-per-category limit can sting even the hardest-nosed.) sure of potential nominees, even when his film garnered 10 nominations and led all films with six wins).
Movies like Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” and Halina Reijn’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies” are smart sci-fi/horror entrants released in 2022 that received critical acclaim. Y it made money at the box office. Without a doubt, they could benefit from a reform in the nominative powers. and perhaps even alleviate a little the protest that the Academy is out of touch with the enjoyment of film patrons.
Of course, when the Best Picture category expanded in 2009, it mainly led to more independent films being nominated, not more blockbusters that crashed the party. Still, expanding a few key categories could show the Academy isn’t as presumptuous as it might seem to be in acknowledging that strong, eligible work can come from any type of film, on any budget, in any genre. That would make for some happier surprises on nomination mornings.
Because (sorry, Nicole Kidman), heartbreak does not feel good in a place like this.
