Studios wary of broader Oscar field

June 24, 2009 What everyone thought would be another sleepy announcement about an arcane rule change in the doc or foreign language category turned into the headline of the day -- opening up the Oscar race to 10 best picture nominees. The awards telecast has been dwindling in the ratings for a decade; at the same time, folks have been carping about the tilt of the noms -- too arty, too downbeat, too too -- or the exclusion of comedies or the relegation of animation to its own category. Most folks were gobsmacked by the news, with many -- think all those filmmakers who believe their films have been snubbed -- applauding the stratagem.

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