In 2000, the Tony Awards added a fifth slot to acting categories (as long as there are sufficient candidates), and just five years later added one on to the directing categories. The Emmys bumped nominees up from five starting in 2009 and have included up to eight nominees to a category in recent years. The Critics Choice Awards, anxious to honor as many potential Oscar nominees as possible, went up to six acting and directing nominees a few years ago, and this year suddenly supersized the directing category all the way up to 10.
So why have the Oscars mostly stayed firm with the five-per-category stance they have employed for decades?
The Academy famously doubled its Best Picture category to 10 nominees back in 2009, shifted to a variable number (in practice, always eight or nine) two years later and then went back to a guaranteed 10 last year. Their initial move was largely due to the outcry over the snubbing of critically acclaimed, wide-appeal Hollywood movies, most notably Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” in 2008.
But it remains the only Oscars category given that allowance, which seems odd given there can be years in which 200+ movies are in play, with many more performances to consider, and many of the post-2009 entries have included a multitude of great performances, often in international and independent films that could have really used that notable boost.
The Golden Globes, which have long had separate Best Picture and lead acting categories for dramas and comedies, realized the drawbacks of only having five directing nominees this year: Already reeling from criticism that forced it to change its rules and expand its membership, it faced a new outcry when its directing category didn’t include a single woman, leaving out Sarah Polley for “Women Talking” and Gina Prince-Bythewood for “The Woman King.”
That may be one reason why the Critics Choice Awards abruptly doubled the size of its directing category when it announced its nominees two days after the Globes. Both Polley and Prince-Bythewood were included, which made the CCA look good (if rather calculating).
And soon it’ll be the Academy’s turn to sweat out the potential pitfalls of only nominating five directors.
The practice of sticking to a handful of noms in most marquee categories has also created the theory of “The Sixth”, in which never-nominated, much-loved talents are oft-believed to have ever-so-slightly missed out on their shot at 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 nominees per category could also prove useful in elevating the efforts of actors and directors who work in sci-fi/horror genres, which except for a precious few titles (“The Exorcist”, and “The Silence of the Lambs” among them) are often completely overlooked. Doing such might have enhanced the visibility of great recent performances, especially by women, such as Essie Davis in “The Babadook”, Toni Collette in “Hereditary” or Amy Adams in “Arrival,” the latter quite possibly the most famous example of “The Sixth”.
(And don’t even get us started on her “Arrival” director Denis Villeneuve’s snub for “Dune” in the directing category last year — again, a terrific example of how the five-per-category cap can sting even the most certain of possible nominees, even when their film earned 10 nominations and lead all movies with six wins.)
Films like Jordan Peele’s “Nope”, Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” and Halina Reijn’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies” are clever sci-fi/horror entrants released in 2022 that received critical acclaim and made money at the box office. They could certainly benefit from a reform in the nominating branches. and maybe even relieve some of the outcry that the Academy is out of touch with movie patrons’ enjoyment.
Granted, when the Best Picture category expanded in 2009, it mostly led to more indie movies being nominated, not in more blockbusters crashing the party. Still, expanding some key categories might just show that the Academy is not as snooty as it might seem in recognizing that eligible, strong work can come from any type of film, at any budget, in any genre. That would make for some happier surprises on nominations mornings.
Because (sorry, Nicole Kidman), heartbreak does not feel good in a place like this.
