Similar Stories to Oscars' Best Picture Field Widened To 10 on Bing News

By DAVID GERMAIN BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Academy Awards will have 10 Best Picture nominees instead of the usual five starting next year, improving the odds for films such as The Dark Knight, a fan and critic favorite that was snubbed last time.Doubling the field for Hollywood’s top prize will make room for more worthy films and potentially give a jolt to the Oscar TV ratings, Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said Wednesday.The change takes effect with the 82nd Oscar show March 7.The academy board of governors decided that more than five films last year deserved Best Picture consideration, Ganis said.Among those that "were part of the conversation" were the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight, fellow superhero flick Iron Man, the animated WALL-E and the comedy Tropic Thunder, Ganis said.All were huge box-office successes but the sort of movies that rarely make the Best Picture cut."It’s going to give the public the possibility of being more interested in the show this year, just because it might very well include more populist movies," Ganis said.