You’ve Never Seen Oscar Like This….

Isn’t this year’s Oscar poster just fabulous?

At 5:30am  Tuesday morning, AMPAS President Tom Sherak and last year’s Best Actress nominee Anne Hathaway announced the nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. It began with a huge media breakfast for the press at  3:30 a.m. Soon after walking in, I was overwhelmed by the definite energy  throughout the room. Everywhere I walked, I could hear the various members of the media buzzing about which 10 films would make the Best Picture Category. There was one film that I kept hearing over and over…BLINDSIDE, BLINDSIDE, BLINDSIDE. Could the Sandra Bullock, feel-good movie REALLY make the 10? Naaahhhh…Or so I thought.

And all the usual suspects, whose insightful Oscar articles many of us have read over the years, were there….

From the LA Times/The Envelope, “Notes on a Season’s” Pete Hammond and “Gold Derby’s” Tom O’Neil.

Ben Lyons from E!

and Roger Friedman from The Hollywood Reporter/Showbiz 411

At 5am we were led up the huge staircase and into the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre. I had to stop and catch my breathe for a moment after walking into the theatre….for I was standing in what I had seen on t.v. so many times. The place of the Annual Academy Awards Nominations announcement. Familiar territory, yet so surreal.

After the announcements, which indeed included THE BLIND SIDE, producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic took some time to talk candidly about the what they have in store for this year’s Oscar show. We’ll bring you that interview as March 7th approaches.

In luring more people to watch the  82nd Academy Awards on March 7th, and in conjunction with ABC, the Academy has come up with a fan-friendly, interactive site on Oscar.com …

Right now on the official site for all things Oscar ®, you can watch the nominations announcement and browse through all-new Red Carpet photo galleries. You can even get in on the action yourself with our new “Play Along” interactive challenge – sign up and pick who you think will be going home with the gold. It’s perfect for your home or office Oscar ® pool! Check the website often as more surprises and new features will be rolling out as we approach the big night.

AMPAS’s mantra this year says it all…”You’ve Never Seen Oscar Like This…”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center ®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.