Source: Variety

It was a big week for Oscar, with two announcements on Friday of changes that might seem like minor tweaks at first glance but in fact have bigger implications.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences board OK’d the music branch’s recommendation to alter the best-song voting so that it’s possible there will be no nominees in any given year. It’s an apparent attempt to preserve the integrity of the category, but an example of “in order to save it, maybe we could eliminate it” thinking.

The other move was the board’s decision to present the “testimonial” awards—the Thalberg nod to filmmakers, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the honorary Oscars for career excellence—at a black-tie event in November for 500 invited guests, rather than presenting them on the Oscarcast.

Read full article at Variety.com