CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread

Vanity Fair reports:



On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it will try to take a more active role in changing the kind of films that end up competing.

“The Academy will encourage equitable hiring practices and representation on and off screen in order to better reflect the diversity of the film community,” the group said in statement outlining its new plans, which include new, stricter term limits for its board of governors, initiatives to encourage diverse hiring, and changes to the ceremony aimed at creating space for those often shut out.

The alteration most visible to Oscar viewers will be the official expansion of the best-picture category to 10 films. Right now, the rules allow anywhere from five to 10 films to compete for the award; the final number each year depends on a tiered voting system aimed at boosting the most favored movies. As of next year, though, 10 movies will be nominated, period—with the apparent goal of adding more seats at the table for final consideration.