The “New York Times”:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/movies/awardsseason/09carpet.html?hp hypothesizes about the reasons for indie-film dominance at the Academy Awards.
bq. After last year’s Oscar show, executives from several major studios complained that their contenders had been run through a grueling awards campaign at great cost but with no real hope of winning. The independent “Slumdog Millionaire” had been a virtual lock from an early point. That plaint is not likely to disappear after Sunday’s proceedings. … Over the last decade the voting membership of the Academy has skewed increasingly toward indie- and foreign-based filmmakers. That is because revised admissions rules strongly favor Oscar nominees over the kind of Hollywood old hands who were once a shoo-in for admission. As smaller films got a footing in the awards over the last few years, those who made and appeared in them became voters, increasing the tilt toward little movies.