Just when it begins to look like Best Original Song might be a category the Academy could do away with altogether they go and issue a rule change that means there will be no fewer than five nominees in the category moving forward.
Today the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a press release announcing the following 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.
If you remember, last year was sort of an embarrassment with only two songs being nominated despite the fact 39 songs were deemed eligible.
In other news, the Art Direction award will now be referred to as the Production Design award as the Art Directors Branch of the Academy is now referred to as… you guessed it, the Designers Branch.
