I know I complained earlier about the Oscars and their new decision to have the best picture nominees come on a sliding scale of 5-10 (based on % of #1 votes), but it does present a fun game (and will make predicting the nominees much more interesting): What it would have looked like if this rule had been in place in the past?
In an extreme act of Oscar geekery, here’s 2001-2010:
2001: 9 nominees
Amelie
A Beautiful Mind
Black Hawk Down
Gosford Park
In The Bedroom
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge!
Mulholland Drive
Shrek
Maybe: Memento; Monster’s Ball
2002: 7 nominees
Adaptation
Chicago
Gangs of New York
Far From Heaven
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist
Maybe: Catch Me If You Can; Talk To Her
2003: 6 nominees
Finding Nemo
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Maybe: Cold Mountain; City of God
the rest after the jump
2004: 7 nominees
The Aviator
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Finding Neverland
Hotel Rwanda
Million Dollar Baby
Ray
Sideways
Maybe: Vera Drake; Fahrenheit 9/11
2005: 8 nominees
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Cinderella Man
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
A History of Violence
Munich
Walk The Line
Maybe: King Kong; The Constant Gardener
2006: 7 nominees
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
United 93
Maybe: Pan’s Labyrinth; Blood Diamond
2007: 8 nominees
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Juno
Michael Clayton
No County For Old Men
Ratatouille
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood
Maybe: American Gangster; Into The Wild
2008: 7 nominees
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Maybe: The Wrestler; Doubt
2009: 5 nominees
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up In The Air
Maybe: An Education; The Blind Side
2010: 7 nominees
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Maybe: The Kids Are All Right; Winter’s Bone
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