Slumdog MillionaireYou might imagine Academy Award voters as old film buffs, tucked away in a locked room somewhere, closing their eyes and pointing to pick the winners of each category.

We're not saying you're not right, but now they'll have to do a lot more than just pick a favorite for Best Picture. This year, not only will the top category include 10 nominees, but instead of selecting the one film they think should win, voters will be ranking all 10, similar to the way they select those nominees early on in the voting process.

So what does this mean for the night's biggest award? And, in its 82nd year, why change now? Simple. With more nominees than ever allowed, the traditional voting process would open up a chance for a longshot to win. It's also very likely that it could narrow the margin between the winning movie and its closest also-ran by just a few votes. Slumdog MillionaireYou might imagine Academy Award voters as old film buffs, tucked away in a locked room somewhere, closing their eyes and pointing to pick the winners of each category.

We're not saying you're not right, but now they'll have to do a lot more than just pick a favorite for Best Picture. This year, not only will the top category include 10 nominees, but instead of selecting the one film they think should win, voters will be ranking all 10, similar to the way they select those nominees early on in the voting process.

So what does this mean for the night's biggest award? And, in its 82nd year, why change now? Simple. With more nominees than ever allowed, the traditional voting process would open up a chance for a longshot to win. It's also very likely that it could narrow the margin between the winning movie and its closest also-ran by just a few votes.

According to The Wrap's interview with Academy executive director Bruce Davis, the new process ensures that the Best Picture winner will have garnered more than 50 percent of the vote, even if it isn't ranked number one on 50 percent of the ballots.

The math might make your head spin -- feel free to read and discern for yourself -- but Davis notes that even voters will need a separate mailer to explain the process fully. The gist is, this guarantees that the one film appearing most in voters' top three or four spots will be the winner, leaving the door open to movies that might've otherwise been overlooked. (If you can call getting an Oscar nomination being overlooked, that is ... )

So what do you think, will this ruin your office Oscars poll? Or will it give smaller, less-hyped movies a better shot? As an awards show watcher, do you even care? Sound off in the comments section below.

The Academy Awards