Academy introduces preferential voting for Best Picture

Aug 31, 2009 by Ian Evans

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed today that it will be using the preferential voting system to determine which of the 10 contenders for its Best Picture award will receive the 2009 Oscar. The system has long been used in the round of voting which determines the nominees in most categories, but it has not been used on the final ballot for Best Picture since 1945.

After extending the number of Best Picture nominees from five to ten in June, the Academy felt that the preferential system was one that best allowed the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.

“Instead of just marking an ‘X’ to indicate which one picture they believe to be the best, members will indicate their second, third and further preferences as well,” Academy President Tom Sherak said. “PricewaterhouseCoopers will then be able to establish the Best Picture recipient with the strongest support of a majority of our electorate.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater while the ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.