A Taste of the Best Picture Buffet

Deciding on the list of best picture Oscar nominees isn't as simple as picking from an old-fashioned Chinese menu. It's not just a matter of ordering up one stately costume picture from column A, one quirky independent character study from column B. Some years, in fact, the eventual best picture nominees have all had more in common than not. Back in 1999, for example, the Academy's taste ran toward Americana, with a lineup that included eventual winner American Beauty alongside The Cider House Rules and The Green Mile. Five years later, both the industry and Oscar voters seemed to tilt in favor of biopics with a nominees list that encompassed The Aviator (Howard Hughes), Finding Neverland (Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie) and Ray (Ray Charles).