According to a press statement, "If no song achieves a minimum average score of 8.25 in the nominations voting, there [will] be no original song nominees and thus no Oscar presented for the category. If only one song achieves the required minimum, it and the song with the next highest score will be deemed the nominees. If two or more songs achieve the minimum score, they will be the nominees though no more than five nominees can be selected." Previously, the rules stated that there could be no more than five but no fewer than three nominees in the Best Music — Original Song category.
Another rule recently announced states that the Best Picture category will comprise ten nominees rather than five.
Academy Award nominations will be announced Feb. 2, 2010. The 82nd Academy Awards will be telecast live on ABC March 7, 2010.
