If you wanted any further proof that the Oscars were all about the money, you've damn sure got it now. It's been announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - AMPAS, to its mates - that next year, the number of Best Picture nominees will be increased from five to ten. Never mind that five nominees has served the Academy well for decades, there are now going to be ten movies whose poster will feature the words Nominated For Best Picture Oscar, or something of that ilk.

Just how keen is AMPAS to devalue the Oscars, exactly? What possible reason, short of giving the movie business a bit more marketing fuel, could there be for doubling the number of nominees? Surely the whole point is to champion a small number of movies, and not have a great big long list of the great and good read out?

And on a practical level, the bloody Oscar show is long enough as it is.

In announcing the move, AMPAS president Sid Ganis said, "Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize. I can't wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February."

Well, why not go the whole way, Sid? Because if you pick ten movies, some more worthy films are going to be squeezed out! Why not make it 15? Why not 20? Heck, why not just have movie directors having a mass Street Fighter tournament on stage to see who wins the prize?

Were they having trouble selling seats at the events or something? And figured that every nominee would bring ten people with them?

Appreciating that just over 50 years ago, the Academy was shortlisting ten films, it still nonetheless realised that if you're in the business of celebrating the best, cutting the list down is part of the job. Hence, it wisely reduced the number to five.

If AMPAS wanted to change the Oscars, then why not cede to William Goldman's suggestion to publish the voting numbers? Why not create a category that rewards a genuinely independent film?

The answer: they don't make money. This move, in my opinion, hasn't come about because the Academy is looking to recognise more films - this is the same body that thought Dances With Wolves was better than Goodfellas, remember. No, it's motivated by green.

And from where I'm sitting, they've just sold themselves out in the pursuit of it.