Academy Changes Its 'Best Song' Rules

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced that they are making several changes to the Oscar rules, EW.com reports. They have decided to change their "Best Song" category rules so that if a song does not receive a high enough score among those in the Academy who rate them, they will not be included among the nominees, meaning there could be years without a Best Song category. Bruce Broughton, head of the Academy's music branch, said of the changes, "We're trying to improve the quality. . . . There's been a lot of talk about the songs in films, the lack of memorability compared to songs in the past, the almost forgettability of some of them."

They have also moved the honorary Oscars segment to a separate ceremony entirely to help keep the actual Oscar ceremony from running too long, reports BBC News. Sid Ganis, Academy president, said that the creation of a separate ceremony would ensure "that each honoree will be given his or her full due."

These changes follow last week's big change to the Best Picture category, in which the number of nominees was increased from five to ten.