By Amanda Spears
With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ continued effort to expand the diversity of their membership, they have decided once again to have ten nominees for Best Picture; dropping the rolling scale based on number one votes. What would have been the 10th, and in some cases, the ninth or 10th films nominated? Would it have led to a more diverse set of nominees or just more of the same? It’s important to remember that after “The Dark Knight” snub in 2008, the Academy expanded the Best Picture lineup in hopes of getting more populous films into the Best Picture lineup. The results were mixed at best, with popular animated films “Up” (2009), "District 9" (2009), and “Toy Story 3” (2010) able to make the lineup. Will a return to 10 bring the Academy the diversity it’s looking for? Below I take a look at what most likely would have received a coveted Best Picture nomination considering Oscar nominations/wins, industry awards (PGA, SAG, DGA, etc.), BAFTA and Golden Globe wins and, critic/festival support. The answers may seem obvious for some years, but for others, it’s not that simple. "Bridesmaids" (2011)
2011 Best Picture Winner: “The Artist”
Also Nominated: “The Descendants,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” “The Help,” “Hugo,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Moneyball,” “The Tree of Life,” and “War Horse” The Contenders: “Bridesmaids,” “The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo,” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” “Bridesmaids” was a critical and box office hit earning two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Melissa McCarthy) and Best Original Screenplay. The film received the same nominations at the BAFTAs. While this film doesn’t seem like the typical Best Picture fair, it did receive industry support from PGA, WGA, and SAG where it received a coveted Best Ensemble nomination, something "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" did not. "Skyfall" (2012)
2012 Best Picture Winner: “Argo”
Also Nominated: “Amour,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “Zero Dark Thirty” The Contenders: “Flight,” “The Master,” and “Skyfall” “Skyfall” may not seem like a natural pick for the Best Picture lineup until you consider this was the most successful Bond film, and the Academy decided to celebrate Bond’s 50th Anniversary at the ceremony. The film won two Oscars, Best Original Song (“Skyfall”) and Best Sound Editing (tied with “Zero Dark Thirty”), and was nominated for an additional three: Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing. But it’s not just Oscar nominations and box office that would’ve placed the film into a top 10 lineup: it’s the film’s industry support reaping a PGA and SAG win for Best Stunt Ensemble and a nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem). But the film’s ace card was its BAFTA win for Best British Film over the presumed favorite, “Les Miserables”. The film also won the BAFTA for Best Original Score along with receiving an additional six nominations. "Frozen" (2013)
2013 Best Picture Winner: “12 Years a Slave”
Also Nominated: “American Hustle,” “Captain Phillips,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Gravity,” “Her,” “Nebraska,” “Philomena,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” The Contenders: “August: Osage County,” “Blue Jasmine,” and “Frozen” This one’s tough especially with a film in the top nine that many critics and pundits believed at the time did not deserve a Best Picture nomination ("Philomena"). Taking that into consideration, it’s hard to select a film like “August: Osage County” or “Blue Jasmine” when they should have had enough support to bypass that particular film, which is why I believe the 10th contender would’ve been the mega-hit, “Frozen”. It won Best Animated Film and Best Original Song for its massive hit and a new standard in the Disney songbook, “Let it Go.” Both the film and song swept the award season except for the Golden Globe loss for Best Original Song. Since the Academy as a whole vote on the nominees for Best Picture, the visibility of “Frozen” would’ve made it a contender.
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