Oscars Change Best Original Song Rule, Five Tunes Will Be Nominees
Though last year’s Oscar winner for Best Original Song wasone of my personal favorites, even Bret McKenzie would admit the competition wasn’t that steep.Man or Muppet(above) beat only one other nominee forBest Original Songat the 84th Annual Academy Awards because ofsome odd rule in that particular categorythat only qualified two nominees. Thankfully, theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Scienceshas seen the error of their ways and have amended the rule to require five songs to be nominated for the category. Whether or notthey’ll be performedat the show is something the new producers are considering.
Read more after the jump, including the new name of theBest Art Directioncategory.
Deadlineposted the following press release with the news about the rule change:
During the nominations process, all voting members of the Music Branch will receive a Reminder List of works submitted in the category and a DVD copy of the song clips. Members will be asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements in the category. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.
Additionally, upon the recommendation from the Designers Branch (formerly the Art Directors Branch), the Art Direction award will be known as the Production Design award.
The Art Direction Award is now called the Production Design Award. That seems like something that should have happened years ago, no?
As for the Best Original Song, the five-nominee mandate is a smart move. Let’s face it. The Oscars are about attracting viewers more than the awards themselves. That’s why the Academy went to ten Best Picture Nominees. And what other technical category actually offers some entertainment value? None, save for Best Original Song. It’s recent bastardazation was a mistake that has now rightfully been fixed.
The Oscars will be produced this year byCraig ZadanandNeil Meron,who have strong musical theater ties. In an interview withthe Hollywood Reporterthey suggested that they would bring back the musical numbers this year but said it was too early to say for sure.
The 85th Annual Academy Awards will take place in Hollywood, CA on July 20, 2025.
