Academy Award®-winning actress Angelina Jolie will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.

In 1999 Jolie took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “Girl, Interrupted,” and she received a nomination in 2008 for her lead performance in “Changeling.” Jolie recently made her writing and directing debut with the film “In the Land of Blood and Honey.” She will be seen next in “Maleficent.” Jolie’s other film credits include “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “The Tourist,” “Salt,” “Wanted,” “A Mighty Heart,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Taking Lives” and “The Bone Collector.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Here’s a glimpse inside the Oscar Nominees Luncheon for the 84th Academy Awards which took place in Beverly Hills, California, Monday, February 6, 2012. The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. On the menu was chopped vegetable salad, roasted Asian barbecued duck, soy-mirin seared Atlantic Salmon and a trio of sorbets in a chocolate cup.

Anne Thompson reported, “Oscarcast co-producer Brian Grazer promised a classy show. Filming of the Billy Crystal intro skit is under way (along with interviews with many of the nominees) — “everyone is in the film,” he said. The Kodak Theatre stage will be dressed like an old-time movie palace to sell the theme of going out to the movies. “Seeing films in that environment is a magnifier of how you feel emotionally,” he said. “You’ll feel like you’re in a movie theater.”

Seated (left to right): Matthew Butler, Julie Anderson, Kira Carstensen Tsunami, Mark Bridges, Demián Bichir, Lon Bender, Michael De Luca, Danfung Dennis, Rebecca Cammisa, Joe Berlinger, BЋrЋnice Bejo, Letty Aronson, Max von Sydow, Kirk Baxter and J.C. Chandor.

2nd row (left to right): Erik Aadahl, Ron Bochar, Deb Adair with guest, Amanda Forbis, Stan Chervin, Glenn Close, Jean Dujardin, George Clooney, Chris Columbus, Marshall Curry, Ludovic Bource, Terry George, Patrick Doyon, Gigi Causey, Erik Nash, Jeff Cronenweth, Viola Davis, Siedah Garrett, Dave Giammarco, Lisy Christl, Nick Dudman, Enrico Casarosa, Sam Cullman, Kenneth Branagh and Scott Benza.

3rd row (left to right): Peter Devlin, Jim Burke, Brandon Oldenburg, William Joyce, Eugene Gearty, Victor Ray Ennis, Dan Lemmon, Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Scott Farrar, John Frazier, Oorlagh George, Sarah Green, Nat Faxon, Brunson Green, Swen Gillberg, Stefan Gieren, Dede Gardner, Robert Gould, Mark Coulier, Robin Fryday, Dante Ferretti, Rick Carter, Laurence Bennett and Michael Barnathan.

4th row (left to right): Daniel Barrett, Emmanuel Lubezki, Daniel Junge, Grant Heslov, Sergio Mendes, Rachael Horovitz, Nick Nolte, Amanda Knight, Alberto Iglesias, Ren Klyce, Thomas Langmann, Michel Hazanavicius, Richard Hymns, Jeffrey Haboush, John Rosengrant, Gary Oldman, Janet McTeer, Matthew Mungle, Dan Lindsay, Lynn Johnston, Peter McDonald, Chris Miller, Alex Henning, Jonah Hill, Bret McKenzie, Ben Grossman and Tom Fleischman.

5th row (left to right): Graham King, Janusz Kaminski, Bill Pohlad, Philip Stockton, Thelma Schoonmaker, Rob Legato, Kennedy, Kathleen, John Logan, Mike Lerner, Stephanie McMillan, Jim Rash, David Parker, Anne Seibel, Christopher Tellefsen, Lisa Tomblin, Guillaume Schiffman, Ethan Van der Ryn, Angus Wall, Ed Novick, Andy Nelson, Annie Mumolo, T.J. Martin, Arianne Phillips, Sandy Powell, Eimear O’Kane, Melissa McCarthy, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andrew Bowler and Greg Butler.

Back row (left to right): J. Roy Helland, Richard Middlemas, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Rooney Mara, Fernando Trueba, Wendy Tilby, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Max Zähle, Michael Semanick, Kevin Tent, James Spione, Beau Willimon, David Vickery, Gore Verbinski, Michelle Williams, Aaron Sorkin, Stephen Tenenbaum, Octavia Spencer, Peter Straughan, Greg Russell, Dan Taylor, Lucy Walker, Jim Taylor, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Hallvar Witzø, R. Christopher White and Steven Zaillian

credit: Greg Harbaugh / A.M.P.A.S.

George Clooney (left) and Brad Pitt (right)

Oscar® nominees George Clooney (left), Jonah Hill (center), and Rooney Mara.

Nominees for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the 84th Academy Awards attended the Oscar Nominees Luncheon in Beverly Hills Monday, February 6, 2012. Pictured here (left to right):  Gary Oldman, Jean Dujardin, Demian Bichir, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

Kenneth Branagh (left), Jonah Hill (center), and Brad Pitt (right).

Oscar nominees Martin Scorsese (left) and Max Von Sydow (right)

Octavia Spencer

Oscar nominees Jim Taylor (left), Martin Scorsese (center) and Steven Spielberg (right)

Jean Dujardin

Demian Bichir

Nick Nolte

Oscar nominees (from left to right): Jeffrey Haboush, Gore Verbinski, Christopher Tellefsen, Michelle Williams, John Rosengrant, Aaron Sorkin, Gary Oldman, Janet McTeer, Peter Straghan, Greg P Russell and Matthew W. Mungle.

Oscar nominee Ludovic Bource

Oscar nominees Stan Chervin (left) Glenn Close (left-center), Jean Dujardin (center), George Clooney (right-center) and Christopher Columbus (right)

Oscar nominees Jeff Cronenweth (left), Viola Davis(left-center), Siedah Garrett (center-right and Dave Giammarco (right)

Oscar nominees Gore Verbinski (left) and Michelle Williams (right)

Oscar® nominees Brad Pitt (left), Bill Pohlad (center) and Meryl Streep (right)

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Eighteen of the 20 nominees in the acting categories will be among more than 150 Oscar nominees who will gather at noon on Monday, February 6, at the Beverly Hilton when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honors this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon. Additional confirmations are expected to come in over the weekend.

From the Best Actress and Actor categories all the nominees – Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Demián Bichir, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt – are expected to attend. Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, Nick Nolte, Max von Sydow, Bérénice Bejo, Melissa McCarthy, Janet McTeer and Octavia Spencer will represent the Supporting Actor and Actress categories.

Three of the five nominees in the Directing category – Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne and Martin Scorsese – also are expected to attend.

Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Three-time Academy Award®-nominated actor Tom Cruise and Academy Award®-winning actress Halle Berry will present at the 84th Academy Awards® ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have announced.

Cruise was nominated for his lead performances in “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire.”  He also was nominated for his supporting role in “Magnolia.” Cruise was recently seen in “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and will be seen next in “Rock of Ages.” His other film credits include “Tropic Thunder,” “War of the Worlds,” “Collateral,” “Minority Report,” “A Few Good Men,” “Rain Man,” “The Color of Money” and “Top Gun.”

credit: Darren Decker / ©A.M.P.A.S

Berry won an Oscar® in 2001 for her lead performance in “Monster’s Ball.” She was recently seen in “New Year’s Eve” and will be seen next opposite Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant in “Cloud Atlas.” Berry’s other film credits include “Frankie & Alice,” “Things We Lost in the Fire,” “Die Another Day,” “Swordfish,” and the first three “X-Men” films.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Final ballots for the 84th Academy Awards® were mailed today (February 1) to the 5,783 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 21.  Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.

Listed on the ballots are nominees in 19 Awards categories. Separate ballots for five categories (Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film) will be distributed after verification of mandatory member attendance at screenings.

Following the tabulation of the votes, the winners’ names will be placed in sealed envelopes to be opened on Oscar Sunday, February 26.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Photos: Greg Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Two-time Academy Award®-winning actor Tom Hanks will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.

Hanks, who is a governor of the Academy, won consecutive Oscars® in 1993 and 1994 for his lead performances in “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump.”  He was also nominated for his leading roles in “Big,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Cast Away.”  Hanks can currently be seen in the Best Picture-nominated “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”  His other film credits include “Larry Crowne,” “Toy Story 3,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Terminal,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Road to Perdition,” “Apollo 13″ and “A League of Their Own.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Jennifer Lopez will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.

Lopez, who serves as a judge on “American Idol,” will be seen next in the feature “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and recently completed work on “Parker” and “Ice Age: Continental Drift.” Her other film credits include “The Back-Up Plan,” “El Cantante,” “Monster-in-Law,” “Maid in Manhattan,” “Enough,” “The Wedding Planner,” ”Out of Sight” and “Selena.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Now that the Academy Award nominations have been announced, with a total of nine films vying for the Best Picture Oscar, the question on the minds of all who care is “Who will win?” Sure, I’ve thought of that, but the bigger question on my mind is “Who cares?” The Academy Awards have been an up and down roller coaster of disappointment and surprise for me over the years, but I honestly can’t recall the last time I was this underwhelmed by the ballot. There are some good films in the mix, but so many great nominee-worthy films have been completely unrecognized.

The Academy made such a big deal about the change in their Best Picture structuring, as a way to enhance the excitement and potentially open the category up for more and different films to have a chance. They tell us “hey, we’re going to select between 5 and 10 films,” but then they select 9 and fill the extra 4 spots not traditionally there in the past with films of questionable worthiness, leaving one spot open where there are several worthy of filling that 10th slot. Does anyone really believe EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE is Best Picture worthy? Perhaps it made the list simply to fill this year’s sole “hot button” ticket, given it’s a film that involves both 9/11 and a boy with autism (we assume?). Seriously, I don’t mean “did you like the film,” but “would you actually vote for this as Best Picture up against the ballot as it stands?” I didn’t think so. I would love to see the full voting results, see if ANYONE of the voting members actually votes for it, and if so… who paid them to do so.

Of the 9 films nominated for Best Picture, I personally think it’s going to boil down to a three-way race between HUGO, THE DESCENDANTS, and THE ARTIST. For my money, HUGO has the best shot, partially because Martin Scorsese has suddenly become an adopted favorite of the Academy, which is ironic seeing as they’ve invited but somewhat ignored him for so many years. It’s kind of like all of a sudden, Scorsese having been a chubby nerd in junior high, lost a bunch of weight and reinvented himself as a cool kid upon entering high school. The other reason HUGO has a good shot is, well… it’s that damn good! THE DESCENDANTS is probably in second place, partially because the Academy can’t seem to get enough of George Clooney, like an overly proud parent assaulting everyone they pass on the street with pictures in their wallet. “Here’s George again, and again here. Isn’t he great! He’s so good! We’re so proud!” I liked THE DESCENDANTS, I think Alexander Payne (this is where Best Director is more favorable) is a great filmmaker, and the film deserves to be nominated for Best Picture, but it also feels like a safe choice this year, and with all the buzz and controversy swirling around this year’s Oscars, I’m inclined to say THE DESCENDANTS won’t be having any celebratory luau’s this year. Now, to address the “white elephant” in the room…

THE ARTIST. Cute, charming, nostalgic… these all describe the silent French film, but none of this equates to Best Picture. I enjoyed the film, although at 100 minutes, it started just slightly to feel a bit long for a silent film. Maybe that’s a sign of it’s flaws, as I’ve willingly sat through the restored version of METROPOLIS (153 minutes) twice now. Sure, Uggie the Dog was cute, and talented/well-trained, but Ive seen better dog tricks and why is the dog of all things getting the most publicity for a Best Picture nominee? The performances were good, the directing was good, but once again… shouldn’t the Best Picture be synonymous with “great” performances and directing? Honestly, the ONLY people I’ve heard buzzing positively about THE ARTIST for Best Picture are the marketers, and a select number of old school critics. I have not once heard anyone out in the “real world” say anything along the lines of “I sure hope THE ARTIST” wins Best Picture. It’s about 50/50 with half on my boat of “it was good, but not great” and the other half (guess who) utterly annoyed and/or befuddled as to why a black & white silent French film is even nominated for Best Picture.

This brings me to yet another qualm I have with the Academy Awards, an issue some may feel is akin to beating a dead horse, but why do they insist on having separate Animated Feature and Foreign Film categories if they are both eligible for Best Picture? I don’t mind having these categories separated, but in doing so, they should be ineligible for Best Picture. It’s like double-dipping a movie in the Oscar guacamole. Otherwise, if you want foreign films and animated films to be eligible for Best Picture, do away with those two separate categories. If nothing else, that will free up some time in the endless issue of the Academy Awards broadcast running long, and we can better justify having ten nominees over just five. Besides, we have a separate category for Best Documentary Feature, but when was the last time you saw a documentary film nominated for Best Picture? (The answer is NEVER.) Let’s put the petty squabbling aside, shall we, and just go with common sense here. It’s best for everyone involved.
Finally, how I feel about the “other films” nominated.

THE HELP was an obvious contender from the very beginning, but for that reason, I find it very unlikely it will win Best Picture. Personally, it feels way too Hallmark-ish for me to stand behind for the award, despite how good it is and how much people enjoyed the film. But, on that note, there is something said for a film’ popularity with the public when it comes to choosing a winner. It’s not the only factor by far, but should it be considered? Why not? I guarantee the public’s reaction to THE ARTIST winning will be less than appreciative. WAR HORSE. Steven Spielberg. Right there, you have three key phrases that spark the Academy’s attention. I enjoyed WAR HORSE, thought it was an accomplished feel-good film, but I think it missed the mark by a horse’s hair for being a realistic frontrunner for Best Picture. However, it should have a decent shot for Best Cinematography.

Woody Allen and the Academy have have an odd relationship over the years, almost as though Woody left the traditional marriage to the Academy to be in a sexier relationship with a younger, more exciting Independent Spirit Awards. With that said, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is one of Woody’s best films in a while, but will Oscar agree? I doubt that, but it is nice to see the film recognized as a nominee. Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE, I believe, is still a dark horse. It’s different enough, beautiful enough, ambitious enough, and controversial enough to have embedded itself deep within the Academy’s subconscious voting mind. My odds would be against it, but don’t crucify this spiritually experimental juggernaut just yet. Finally, we’ve come to the MONEYBALL. This, I believe, is this year’s long-shot contender. This makes Brad Pitt’s third Oscar nomination without a win, plus Jonah Hill is also nominated (although, doesn’t have a chance at winning, if the world is fair) and was a popular film amidst the general public. However, it’s a film about baseball, and that’s not exactly a topic I associate as being high on the Academy’s list of significance.

What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing. In the grand scheme of things, this is all purely speculation. For all we know, this entire thing may be a rouse by the Academy to throw us off and we could find ourselves relatively surprised, but I doubt that. Personally, the only way I’ll be truly shocked and pleasantly surprised with this year’s Academy Awards is if DRIVE is suddenly revealed as the “secret” 10th Best Picture nomination and we see a Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar walk off the stage engraved with the name “Michael.” (You pick which one. I’d be happy with either.)

Six actresses – Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig – from the hit comedy “Bridesmaids” will be presenters at the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today. McCarthy received her first Oscar® nomination this year for her supporting role in the film, and Wiig also became a first-time nominee for the film’s original screenplay. All six will be making their first Oscar show appearances.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has entered into an agreement with Everyone Counts Inc. to exclusively develop an electronic voting system for the 85th Academy Awards®, to be held in 2013. Everyone Counts will work with PwC, the Academy’s accounting firm of record, whose role in tabulating Academy members’ votes will remain unchanged. Over the next year, the Academy will undertake a rigorous security and user-acceptance testing process.

“This is the first of many steps that we’ll be taking toward developing a secure and convenient electronic voting system, beginning with next year’s ballot,” said Academy Chief Operating Officer Ric Robertson. “We’re excited to have found great partners in the people who do this best.”

The selection of Everyone Counts is the result of an 18-month search conducted by the Academy. The company is internationally recognized for its expertise in election administration and computer security and its voting platform is a global leader in the election industry. Built into its technology and processes are multiple layers of security that include military-grade encryption techniques. The company’s other clients include the United States Department of Defense; the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice; the state of New South Wales, Australia; and the states of Oregon, Florida, and Washington.

“We are honored to have earned the trust of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in bringing online voting to the Oscars starting next year,” said Lori Steele, Chairman and CEO of Everyone Counts Inc. “Our company was founded to set a new standard of security, accessibility, and transparency in elections. We’re proud to be working with the Academy, an organization that also represents the highest standards in its field.”

“We look forward to working with Everyone Counts for next year’s 85th Academy Awards and beyond,” said Brad Oltmanns, balloting leader, PwC. “We are excited about the new electronic voting system, which will enable us to conduct the tabulation process with the same high level of precision, trust and integrity that we have for the past 78 years.”

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ABOUT EVERYONE COUNTS INC.
Everyone Counts, the world’s leading provider of state-of-the-art election administration and voting systems, uniquely combines world-class expertise in technology, computer security, usability and election administration. Through this experience and expertise, Everyone Counts has modernized best-election-practices worldwide since 1997. Unique in the industry, Everyone Counts’ continually innovates to meet customer needs. Its patent pending innovations are quickly becoming the industry standard globally and are transforming the $32 billion election industry. Everyone Counts’ SaaS-based election administration tools and voting platform are helping governments and private membership organizations to improve their existing processes, systems and services. Ease of adoption is core to the Everyone Counts voting platform. The firm’s ability to integrate its modern election systems with existing processes is unmatched worldwide.

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Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced today (Tuesday, January 24) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and 2010 Oscar® nominee Jennifer Lawrence. Brace yourselves for the surprises and omissions. The nominees were a little more than crazy this year to say the least – nine best picture nominees! This year’s balloting rules allowed for the possibility of between five and ten Best Picture nominees, and for the first time in Academy history, nine films have been nominated in that category.

Now for the shockers. No Michael Fassbender in the Best Actor category…no Albert Brooks in Best Supporting Actor category…no ADVENTURES OF TINTIN or CARS 2 in the Animated category! Terrence Malick and THE TREE OF LIFE both saw some love with 2 nods this morning. How grand that Rooney Mara, Demián Bichir, Jonah Hill, and Nick Nolte are coming to the big party this year! It was so gratifying to see little animated films that could – A CAT IN PARIS and CHICO AND RITA. The biggest jaw drop by far was EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE making the Best Picture cut.

List By Picture with Two or More Nominations:

HUGO – 11
THE ARTIST – 10
MONEYBALL – 6
WAR HORSE – 6
THE DESCENDANTS – 5
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO – 5
THE HELP – 4
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS – 4
ALBERT NOBBS – 3
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 – 3
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – 3
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON – 3
THE TREE OF LIFE – 3
BRIDESMAIDS – 2
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE – 2
THE IRON LADY – 2
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – 2
A SEPARATION – 2

With his two nominations for Original Score this year, John Williams now has a total of 47 nominations. He ranks second to Walt Disney as the most-nominated individual in Oscar® history. Among living persons, Woody Allen, who is also nominated twice this year for a total of 23 nominations, is second only to Williams.

Meryl Streep extends her lead as the most-nominated performer in Oscar history with her 17th nomination this year.

In the acting categories, nine individuals are first-time nominees. Two of the nominees (George Clooney, Meryl Streep) are previous acting winners. Only Michelle Williams was also nominated last year, for her leading role in Blue Valentine.

Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg, with their nominations for War Horse, now share the record for most Best Picture nominations for individual producers with seven each. Kennedy’s previous nominations were for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Color Purple (1985), The Sixth Sense (1999), Seabiscuit (2003), Munich (2005) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Spielberg’s other Best Picture nominations were for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, The Color Purple, Schindler’s List (1993), for which he won the award, Saving Private Ryan (1998), Munich and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).

With his nominations for directing and writing Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen passes Billy Wilder in becoming a seven-time double nominee for Directing and Writing on the same film.

A Separation is the first screenplay written in Farsi to receive a Writing nomination.

For the second time, George Clooney has received nominations in two different categories for two different feature films in the same year. He is nominated for his leading role in The Descendants and in the Adapted Screenplay category for The Ides of March. In 2005, he was named Best Supporting Actor for Syriana and was nominated in the Original Screenplay category for Good Night, and Good Luck.

Pina is the first 3D film nominated in the Documentary Feature category.

The Artist is the tenth predominantly black-and-white film to be nominated for Cinematography since 1967, when the separate category for black-and-white cinematography was eliminated. Previously nominated films were In Cold Blood (1967), The Last Picture Show (1971), Lenny (1974), Raging Bull (1981), Zelig (1983), Schindler’s List (1993), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) and The White Ribbon (2009).

Sherak and Lawrence, who was nominated for an Academy Award® for her lead performance in “Winter’s Bone,” announced the nominees in 10 of the 24 Award categories at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives. Lists of nominations in all categories were then distributed to the media in attendance and online via the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominations are selected by vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

Nominations ballots were mailed to the 5,783 voting members in late December and were returned directly to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the international accounting firm, for tabulation.

Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members this weekend at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Screenings also will be held at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.

All active and life members of the Academy are eligible to select the winners in all categories, although in five of them – Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject and Foreign Language Film – members can vote only if they have seen all of the nominated films in those categories.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

“This afternoon in Berlin I learned that I was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor. You may have heard this before, but it has never been truer than it is for me today; it is extremely humbling, gratifying, and delightful to have your work recognized by the Academy, and to join the celebrated ranks of previous nominees and colleagues. Amazing.”

—Gary Oldman, Berlin

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

“It’s a shot in the arm for a young kid of 82 to receive an Academy Award nomination this morning.  My gratitude to Writer/Director Michael Mills, The Academy and to everyone involved with ‘Beginners’” -Christopher Plummer

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film
“A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
“Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
“The Artist” Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“Midnight in Paris” Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
“The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
“Hugo” Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
“Anonymous” Lisy Christl
“The Artist” Mark Bridges
“Hugo” Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
“W.E.” Arianne Phillips

“I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted to be nominated for my work on Jane Eyre.” -Michael O’Connor

Directing
“The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Alexander Payne
“Hugo” Martin Scorsese
“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
“The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)
“Hell and Back Again” (Docurama Films) A Roast Beef Limited Production, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) A Marshall Curry Production, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” An @radical.media Production, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
“Pina” (Sundance Selects) A Neue Road Movies Production, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated” (The Weinstein Company) A Spitfire Pictures Production, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
“God Is the Bigger Elvis” Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
“Incident in New Baghdad”James Spione
“Saving Face” Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
“The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Kevin Tent
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film
“Bullhead” Belgium
“Footnote” Israel
“In Darkness” Poland
“Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
“A Separation” Iran

Makeup
“Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions) Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
“The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company) Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)
“The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
“The Artist” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)
“Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
“La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
“A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
“Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
“Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
“Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
“The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
“Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
“Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
“Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
“Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
“Hugo” Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
“Moneyball” Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
“War Horse” Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
“Hugo” Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
“Real Steel” Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
“A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

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Watch as the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards are announced live on Tuesday, January 24 at 8:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. PT by Academy President Tom Sherak and Academy member and Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and OnTheRedCarpet.com today announced the On The Red Carpet (OTRC) College Journalist Contest, inviting college students from around the country to compete for a chance to report live from the red carpet at the 84th Academy Awards®.

From today through Sunday, February 5, college students are invited to submit a three minute video to redcarpetjournalist.com, showcasing their interviewing skills and proving why they deserve to represent future broadcast journalists at the Oscars®. All videos submitted must be from teams made up of one reporter, one producer and one videographer. Two teams will be selected from each of the ABC-owned television stations’ markets – Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh and San Francisco – for a total of 16 finalist teams. These 16 teams will then be judged by an expert panel composed of representatives from the Academy and KABC-TV who will determine the contest winner.

The winning team will be flown out to Los Angeles to cover Academy Awards pre-events, including the Animated Feature Symposium, Foreign Language Film Award press event, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium and the Governors Ball preview. Additionally, the winning team will have the exclusive opportunity to work with KABC-TV’s OTRC team and report live during the “On The Red Carpet at the Oscars” pre-show (1:30–4 p.m. PT).

For the complete contest rules and online entry form, go to www.redcarpetjournalist.com.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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ABOUT OnTheRedCarpet.COM
OnTheRedCarpet.com provides breaking entertainment news as well as original stories, exclusive video and aggregated content comprising celebrity, fashion, movies, television and more. On The Red Carpet, a weekly entertainment news show, highlights the week’s developments in celebrity and style. On The Red Carpet gives viewers front-row access to premieres, award shows and special events, celebrity interviews, red carpet fashion, movie news and more. Rachel Smith and Chris Balish co-host.

In anticipation of the 84th Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences has launched “Celebrate the Movies,” a digital exhibition spotlighting iconic moments from 84 films.

Beginning today, January 23, the exhibition will appear on digital billboards in Los Angeles, and on ABC’s digital “SuperSign,” an electronic landmark in New York’s Times Square. It will also be showcased on an online gallery on Oscar.com, and extend to youtube.com/Oscars, where fans can share their most memorable movie-going experiences through video or text.

Images will debut in groups of 20 within the next two weeks. The 84 films represented span eight decades, beginning with “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) and culminating in “Avatar” (2009). Highlights from each decade include “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “Casablanca” (1942), “The Killers” (1946), “Sunset Boulevard” (1950), “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), “True Grit” (1969), “The Exorcist” (1973), “Saturday Night Fever” (1977), “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980), “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), “Apollo 13″ (1995), “Shrek” (2001), “Ray” (2004), and “The Dark Knight” (2008).  The exhibition highlights all of Hollywood’s major genres, as well as independent, animated, foreign-language, and documentary films.
Included in the first 20 images are the eight that were featured in the key art campaign, which was unveiled in late December.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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For the first time in many a blue moon, the eventual Best Picture winner hasn’t already been decided as in years past, but it’s beginning to feel as if a certain silent movie will take home the big enchilada. Frankly there were no films to feel passionate about in 2011 - no one taking sides, no one predicting months ago. And most of the presumed BP nominees were released in the spring and summer. The only things left to decide now are what will be the big surprises and the all important snubs. On Saturday, the Producers Guild announced THE ARTIST as their choice for Best Picture. The Directors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild announce next weekend.

Below is a look at our Oscar predictions in the big categories to be announced Tuesday morning. With the rule changes again in Best Picture, we’ve decided on 7 films. Rules: ”The pictures receiving the highest number of votes shall become the nominations for final voting for the Best Picture award. There may not be more than ten nor fewer than five nominations; however, no picture shall be nominated that receives less than five percent of the total votes cast.” Don’t be surprised if AMPAS President Tom Sherak and Actress Jennifer Lawrence only announce 5. (We can always hope.)

Some of us are sticking to our guns that a film should not be eligible for both Best Picture and Best Animated Feature, therefore, dismissing all this baloney about HUGO being nominated for Best Picture, placing it strictly within the Animated category. Best Director, however, is still fair game!

And let us know what you think in our comments section. Where did we go wrong? What did you like seeing on our list?

PREDICTIONS:

BEST PICTURE

HUGO

THE DESCENDANTS

THE ARTIST

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

THE HELP

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

MONEYBALL

Watch out for – WAR HORSE, BRIDESMAIDS, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2, DRIVE, and TREE OF LIFE

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT INPARIS
2. David Fincher, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
3. Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
4. Alexander Payne, THE DESCENDANTS
5. Martin Scorsese, HUGO

Watch out for – Steven Spielberg, WAR HORSE, Tate Taylor, THE HELP, Terrence Malick, THE TREE OF LIFE, Nicolas Winding Refn, DRIVE

BEST ACTOR
1. George Clooney, THE DESCENDANTS
2. Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST
3. Michael Fassbender, SHAME
4. Gary Oldman, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
5. Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL

Watch out for – Demián Bichir, A BETTER LIFE, Leonardo DiCaprio, J. EDGAR, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50, Michael Shannon, TAKE SHELTER

BEST ACTRESS

1. Glenn Close, ALBERT NOBBS
2. Viola Davis, THE HELP
3. Meryl Streep, THE IRON LADY
4. Tilda Swinton, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
5. Michelle Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

Watch out for – Kirsten Dunst, MELANCHOLIA; Rooney Mara, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO; Charlize Theron, YOUNG ADULT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Kenneth Branagh, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
2. Albert Brooks, DRIVE
3. Jonah Hill, MONEYBALL
4. Nick Nolte, WARRIOR
5. Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS

Watch out for – Max Von Sydow, EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE, Armie Hammer, J EDGAR, Jim Broadbent, THE IRON LADY, in our “anything is possible” dreams – Andy Serkis, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Bérénice Bejo, THE ARTIST
2. Jessica Chastain, THE HELP
3. Melissa McCarthy, BRIDESMAIDS
4. Janet McTeer, ALBERT NOBBS
5. Octavia Spencer, THE HELP

Watch out for – Shailene Woodley, THE DESCENDANTS, Carey Mulligan, SHAME or DRIVE, Judi Dench, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
2. Michel Hazanivicius, THE ARTIST
3. Tom McCarthy, WIN WIN
4. Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig, BRIDESMAIDS
5. Will Reiser, 50/50

Watch out for – Mike Mills, BEGINNERS; Diablo Cody, YOUNG ADULT

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, THE DESCENDANTS
2. Tate Taylor, THE HELP
3. John Logan, HUGO
4, Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian, MONEYBALL
5. Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY

Watch out for – Richard Curtis & Lee Hall, WAR HORSE, Steven Zaillian, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

ANIMATED FEATURE

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
KUNG FU PANDA 2
RANGO
PUSS IN BOOTS
HUGO

Watch out for – RIO, CARS 2

Nine films will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Academy Awards®. Sixty-three films had originally qualified in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Belgium, “Bullhead,” Michael R. Roskam, director;
Canada, “Monsieur Lazhar,” Philippe Falardeau, director;
Denmark, “Superclásico,” Ole Christian Madsen, director;
Germany, “Pina,” Wim Wenders, director;
Iran, “A Separation,” Asghar Farhadi, director;
Israel, “Footnote,” Joseph Cedar, director;
Morocco, “Omar Killed Me,” Roschdy Zem, director;
Poland, “In Darkness,” Agnieszka Holland, director;
Taiwan, “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale,” Wei Te-sheng, director.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2011 are again being determined in two phases.

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 63 eligible films between mid-October and January 13. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 20, through Sunday, January 22, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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The 5,783 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences must return their completed Oscar nominations ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, January 13. Ballots received after that deadline will not be counted.

In the majority of the categories, PwC will tabulate the ballots using the preferential voting system.
The 84th Academy Awards® nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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Visual effects technologist Jonathan Erland has been voted the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The award – a medallion – will be presented at the Scientific and Technical Awards presentation on Saturday, February 11, at the Beverly Wilshire.

Erland began his professional training in the entertainment industry studying theater at the Central School in England and film at the London Film School. His knowledge of theater technology made him a desirable asset to the team building the audio-animatronic puppet theaters for the I.B.M. Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

After moving to Los Angeles, Erland maintained dual careers in both the entertainment and the industrial exhibit design fields. He joined the newly created Industrial Light & Magic to work on the visual effects for the 1977 film “Star Wars.” He continued in the burgeoning visual effects field as director of research and development for Apogee Productions, where he received patents for a reverse bluescreen traveling matte process, the Blue-Max flux projector and a method for making front projection screens. The innovations, along with the development of a digital traveling matte system, also earned Academy Scientific and Technical Awards.

In 2007 Erland received an Award of Commendation for “his leadership and efforts toward identifying and solving the problem of High-Speed Emulsion Stress Syndrome in motion picture film stock.”

An Academy member since 1984, Erland was instrumental in establishing Visual Effects as a separate Academy branch in 1995. He has served 11 years on the Academy’s Board of Governors and many years on the Executive Committees of both the Visual Effects Branch and the Scientific and Technical Awards. He also is a founding member of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council.

Named in honor of the late director of special projects at Warner Hollywood Studios, the John A. Bonner Medal is awarded for “outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.”

Portions of the Scientific and Technical Awards presentation will be included in the Oscar® ceremony.
Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved documentary and short films rules for the 85th Academy Awards at its most recent meeting (December 6). The most significant changes expand members’ opportunities to view contending films, enabling more members to participate in the Academy’s voting processes in the Documentary Feature, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories.

In the Documentary Feature category, the entire Documentary Branch will now receive all eligible titles beginning in the first round of voting. To facilitate this change, filmmakers must submit 200 DVDs, an increase from the 30 that had been required in previous years. In the final round of voting in this category, members must still see all the nominated films, but the viewing of films on digital or DVD screeners will now be an option for satisfying this requirement.

A documentary feature film’s eligibility will continue to depend on completing seven-day qualifying runs in both New York and Los Angeles that are advertised in at least one major newspaper, as specified by Academy rules, in each city. For the 85th Academy Awards, however, a review by a movie critic in The New York Times and/or the Los Angeles Times will also be required.

In the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories, members will still have to see all the nominated films before casting their final ballots, but viewing the films on screeners will now be an option for satisfying this requirement. Films that are shown during their theatrical run in a non-standard format, such as IMAX, will have to be submitted to the Academy in a standard theatrical aspect ratio and in a format currently accepted for Academy exhibition to remain eligible. Producers may provide additional screenings of their films in non-standard formats, but members’ attendance at such screenings will not be required for voting purposes.

Other rules changes for the documentary and short films categories include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.

Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The Awards Rules Committee then reviews all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Board of Governors for approval.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup category for the 84th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

• “Albert Nobbs”
• “Anonymous”
• “The Artist”
• “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life”
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
• “Hugo”
• “The Iron Lady”

On Saturday, January 21, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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