Thursday Theoretical Oscar Category

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. In my love for everything Oscar, it’s always fun to speculate on who or what might have been included given different circumstances. Though there are twenty-four fields recognized on Oscar night, that still neglects a handful of key players. As a result, I’d like to take a look each week at imagined categories, and who or what might have benefited from their existence.

The category: Best Choreography

Why it should exist: There are a handful of musicals each year, and, beyond that, a good deal of dance numbers and other important staging that goes on in a good percentage of films each year. Both the Emmy Awards and the Tony Awards give out such a prize, and it would be a worthwhile endeavor for Oscar voters as well.

Why it doesn’t exist: There actually isn’t a good answer to this question. I suppose the best argument is that it might be hard to fill the list each year (I’ve illustrated that below, as nominees range from two to five depending on the year), and that musical films would dominate while those with only a number or two wouldn’t have much of a chance. Otherwise, I think this one is the closest of any to actually truly existing, not that it would be instated any time soon, of course.

Who might have been nominated the past five years:
2011: The Artist, Footloose, The Muppets
2010: Burlesque, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
2009: 500 Days of Summer, Nine
2008: Hamlet 2, High School Musical 3, Mamma Mia
2007: Across the Universe, Enchanted, Hairspray, Music and Lyrics, Sweeney Todd

Who do you think might have been nominated?