Oscar Expands View to Include 10 Movies for Best Picture

BEVERLY HILLS, CA (AP) -- OK, so it still wouldn't have helped "Norbit" get a nomination. But the people who do the Oscars are making room for more entries in the best picture category.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to increase the field of best-picture entries from 5 to 10. The Academy says that will open up the category to more worthy movies and possibly boost TV ratings for the actual Oscar ceremony, which has been slumping in recent years.

The change takes effect with next year's Oscars, which are set for March 7.

Some TV viewers have been turned off by the fact that the Academy tends to ignore movies that are blockbuster films and give props to films nobody has heard of.

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