How best picture is decided

Predicting the winners of the Oscars might be the most popular sport in the entertainment industry, but actually selecting a winner is no game for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It's a system -- called preferential voting -- that generates yearly complaints from statistician nerds and conspiracy theorists everywhere. And though the academy has used it since 1934 to determine its nominees, this is the first year it will be used to determine the best picture winner, which is why the method is taking center stage again and why so many people are scratching their heads trying to understand the process.

By Christy Grosz

March 3, 2010