Two years after expanding the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten, the Academy has tweaked the rules again. And this latest innovation is pretty intriguing: Instead of a set number of nominees, the category will have as many movies as garner enough first-place votes to amount to 5 percent of the total ballots cast. Says retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis: “A best picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit. If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.” The actual number of nominees won’t be announced until the actual nominees are, on January 24. Meaning: This is a great opportunity for the famous actor pair that has to get up early to read the nominations off that morning to do that thing where you pause long enough to make it seem like you’re done reading, and then keep reading. [HR]
