Two hundred sixty-five feature films are eligible for the 2011 Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week. The list begins with ABDUCTION and ends with ZOOKEEPER.

To be eligible for 84th Academy Awards® consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.

Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.

Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category.

The “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 84th Academy Awards” is available at http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/reminderlist.html.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 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 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen the first Best Picture winner, “Wings,” starring Clara Bow, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen and Gary Cooper, as part of a celebration of Paramount Pictures’ 100th anniversary, on Wednesday, January 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will premiere a restoration by Paramount Pictures in cooperation with the Academy Film Archive, with live musical accompaniment by Clark Wilson on the Allen Theatre Organ.

The Academy is pleased to return the Best Picture winner “Wings,” which first premiered in 1927, to the big screen in a vibrant and meticulously restored version that includes the original color tints and re-creates the Handschiegl color process used for additional visual effects. Organist Clark Wilson, who has accompanied silent films at theaters around the country including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, will offer live organ accompaniment that provides an authentic period recreation and also serves to bring the film’s emotional power to life for modern audiences.

In addition to its distinction for Outstanding Picture (1927/28), the film also took home an Oscar for Engineering Effects (Roy Pomeroy).

“Wings” is presented in conjunction with “Paramount’s Movie Milestones: A Centennial Celebration,” an exhibition of photographs, posters, design sketches and personal correspondence highlighting some of Paramount’s most celebrated films and filmmakers over the past 100 years. The exhibition will be open to the public from Friday, January 6, through Sunday, February 5, in the Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free.

Tickets for “Wings” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and will be available for purchase now, online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office and by mail.

The Samuel Goldwyn Theater and the Academy Grand Lobby Gallery are located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Theater doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

Although I preferred a time when the Best Picture race was comprised of 5 prestigious nominees, there’s one thing for sure - the new change will make for a suspenseful Oscar nomination morning. But how likely will more regular joe’s flock to their TV’s at 5:30am? What does this do to the studios Oscar campaigns? No word of a date change or who the producers of the 84th Academy Awards will be.

Official AMPAS Press Release:

Beverly Hills, CA – The governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted on Tuesday (6/14) to add a new twist to the 2011 Best Picture competition, and a new element of surprise to its annual nominations announcement. The Board voted to institute a system that will now produce anywhere between five and 10 nominees in the category. That number won’t be announced until the Best Picture nominees themselves are revealed at the January nominations announcement.

“With the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers, we’ve been looking not just at what happened over the past two years, but at what would have happened if we had been selecting 10 nominees for the past 10 years,” explained Academy President Tom Sherak, who noted that it was retiring Academy executive director Bruce Davis who recommended the change first to Sherak and incoming CEO Dawn Hudson and then to the governors.

During the period studied, the average percentage of first place votes received by the top vote-getting movie was 20.5. After much analysis by Academy officials, it was determined that 5% of first place votes should be the minimum in order to receive a nomination, resulting in a slate of anywhere from five to 10 movies.

“In studying the data, what stood out was that Academy members had regularly shown a strong admiration for more than five movies,” said Davis. “A Best Picture nomination should be an indication of extraordinary merit.  If there are only eight pictures that truly earn that honor in a given year, we shouldn’t feel an obligation to round out the number.”

If this system had been in effect from 2001 to 2008 (before the expansion to a slate of 10), there would have been years that yielded 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 nominees.

The final round of voting for Best Picture will continue to employ the preferential system, regardless of the number of nominees, to ensure that the winning picture has the endorsement of more than half of the voters.

Other rules changes approved by the Board include:

• In the animated feature film category, the need for the Board to vote to “activate” the category each year was eliminated, though a minimum number of eligible releases – eight – is still required for a competitive category.  
• Additionally, the short films and feature animation branch recommended, and the Board approved, refinements to the number of possible nominees in the Animated Feature category. In any year in which eight to 12 animated features are released, either two or three of them may be nominated. When 13 to 15 films are released, a maximum of four may be nominated, and when 16 or more animated features are released, a maximum of five may be nominated. 
• In the visual effects category, the “bakeoff” at which the nominees are determined will expand from seven to 10 contenders. The increase in the number of participants is related to a change made last year in which the number of films nominated in the visual effects category was increased from three to five.

Previously, the Board approved changes to the documentary feature and documentary short category rules that now put those categories’ eligibility periods in line with the calendar year and thus with most other awards categories.  The change means that for the 84th Awards cycle only, the eligibility period is more than 12 months; it is from September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011.

Other modifications of the 84th Academy Awards rules 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 Academy’s Board of Governors for approval.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 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 200 countries worldwide.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

THE KING’S SPEECH was king of all he surveyed on Sunday evening at the 83rd Academy Awards. James Franco, Oscar®-nominee for Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and Anne Hathaway hosted the Oscars® broadcast by the ABC Television Network from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA.

Going in to the evening with 12 nominations, THE KING’S SPEECH came away with four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Original Screenplay (Michael Seidler). INCEPTION also collected four Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects. The Facebook drama, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, won 3 Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay (David Sorkin), Best Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) and Best Editing.

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech” WINNER
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter” WINNER
• John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” WINNER
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” WINNER
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich WINNER

Art Direction

• “Alice in Wonderland” WINNER
  Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Inception”
  Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• “The King’s Speech”
  Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
• “True Grit”
  Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Cinematography

• “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
• “Inception” Wally Pfister WINNER
• “The King’s Speech” Danny Cohen
• “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
• “True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design

• “Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood WINNER
• “I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
• “The King’s Speech” Jenny Beavan
• “The Tempest” Sandy Powell
• “True Grit” Mary Zophres

Directing

• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell
• “The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper WINNER
• “The Social Network” David Fincher
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs WINNER
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Killing in the Name” Jed Rothstein
• “Poster Girl” Sara Nesson and Mitchell W. Block
• “Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon WINNER
• “Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• “The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Film Editing

• “Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
• “The Fighter” Pamela Martin
• “The King’s Speech” Tariq Anwar
• “127 Hours” Jon Harris
• “The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter WINNER

Foreign Language Film

• “Biutiful” Mexico
• “Dogtooth” Greece
• “In a Better World” Denmark WINNER
• “Incendies” Canada
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup

• “Barney’s Version” Adrien Morot
• “The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey WINNER

Music (Original Score)

• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer
• “The King’s Speech” Alexandre Desplat
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross WINNER

Music (Original Song)

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″ Music and Lyric by Randy Newman WINNER

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• “The King’s Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers WINNER
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• “Winter’s Bone” Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

• “Day & Night” Teddy Newton
• “The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
• “Let’s Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe
• “The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann WINNER
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Confession” Tanel Toom
• “The Crush” Michael Creagh
• “God of Love” Luke Matheny WINNER
• “Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
• “Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

• “Inception” Richard King WINNER
• “Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
• “Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
• “Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

• “Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick WINNER
• “The King’s Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
• “Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
• “The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects

• “Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
• “Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky and Joe Farrell
• “Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb WINNER
• “Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin WINNER
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Winter’s Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
  Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• “The King’s Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler WINNER

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

Ten Movies. Two Days. One Oscar.

Tickets on Sale Now for Special Event on Feb. 19 & 26

AMC Theatres (AMC), a leading theatrical exhibition and entertainment company, is proud to announce the 5th annual AMC Best Picture Showcase, the highly anticipated event by movie lovers nationwide. Since 2007, AMC has offered guests the rare opportunity to experience the movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.The 10 movies nominated for Best Picture will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 26 at more than 113 theatres in 43 markets. Plus, a select 15 of those theatres in 13 markets will host a 24-hour movie marathon where guests can watch all 10 movies in one sitting!

The nominees are: BLACK SWAN, THE FIGHTER, INCEPTION, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, THE KING’S SPEECH, 127 HOURS, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, TOY STORY 3, TRUE GRIT and WINTER’S BONE.

AMC Best Picture Showcase Pricing:

Guests will receive a $10 gift card for each one-day pass purchased. Two-day event pass holders will receive a $10 gift card when they check-in on each Saturday. Guests purchasing the 24-hour marathon pass will receive a $20 gift card for Feb. 27. Gift cards can be used for concessions throughout that day.

All guests will also receive a free, special theatre-sized AMC Best Picture Showcase poster that features artwork from all 10 nominees (while supplies last). This poster was specially designed for this event and will not be available at any other time. Additionally, guests will receive a keepsake lanyard, which serves as the pass for the AMC Best Picture Showcase. Please note there will not be a discount for MovieWatcher members.

For a list of participating theatres, show times and to purchase passes for the AMC Best Picture Showcase, please visit www.AMCTheatres.com/BPS. Guests can also purchase passes at participating theatres. And follow the Best Picture Oscar buzz on Twitter by using the hashtag #amcbps or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/amctheatres. Followers here will be the first to hear about any exciting news.

The Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center and televised live on ABC.

About AMC Entertainment Inc.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., AMC Entertainment Inc. is a leading theatrical exhibition and entertainment company. With a history of industry leadership and innovation dating back to 1920, the company today serves hundreds of millions of guests annually through interests in 361 theatres with 5,203 screens in five countries. www.AMCTheatres.com.

Beverly Hills, CA – Two hundred forty-eight feature films are eligible for the 2010 Academy Award® for Best Picture, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

To be eligible for 83rd Academy Awards® consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.

Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.

Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, 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 200 countries worldwide.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY:
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

For this WAMG writer, it was a glorious sight to behold as Kathryn Bigelow, at the 82nd Academy Awards, became the first woman in Oscar history to win the award for directing. Bigelow also went on to share the honors with fellow producers Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro as THE HURT LOCKER took home the award for Best Picture. Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock received the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress. On a personal note, I had a wonderful time being a guest of AMPAS at their various symposiums, at the Kodak Theatre, and on the Red Carpet on Oscar Day. For this freshman reporter and lifelong Oscarfan, it was the dream of a lifetime!

Here’s the full list on winners:

Best Picture

• “The Hurt Locker” - Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers

Directing

• “The Hurt Locker” – Kathryn Bigelow

Actor in a Leading Role

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film

• “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

• “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

Cinematography

• “Avatar” Mauro Fiore

Costume Design

• “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Documentary (Feature)

• “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

Film Editing

• “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

Foreign Language Film

• “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina

Makeup

• “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

Music (Original Score)

• “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Short Film (Animated)

• “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing

• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson

Sound Mixing

• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

Visual Effects

• “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boa

Source: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences

For you Oscarphiles out there, here’s the latest from AMPAS. With  Hannukah just ending and Christmas fast approaching, they’ve been a busy group this past week.

274 Films Up For Best Picture:

Beverly Hills, CA – Two hundred seventy-four feature films are eligible for the Academy Award ® for Best Picture of 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today. To be eligible for 82nd Academy Awards ® consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.

Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format. Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category.

Oscar Night(R) America 2010 to be Celebrated in 50 Cities Nationwide:

Oscar Night America (ONA), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ grassroots program that enables local charities to host glamorous Oscar ® viewing parties and raise money for their organizations, kicks off its 17th year in 2010. On Sunday, March 7, 50 cities will host official Oscar viewing parties during the 82nd Academy Awards ® ceremony. For the first time in 2010, Oscar Night America will be celebrated in New York City, benefitting NYC & Company Foundation. All events will feature the live broadcast of the Awards presentation on the ABC Television Network.

“Especially in these difficult financial times, supporting local charities is essential. We’re very happy that Oscar Night America serves as a successful, and fun, way for people around the country to help make a difference,” said Academy Executive Director Bruce Davis.

The ONA 2010 locations are Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Grand Rapids (MI), Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Greenville, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Springfield (MO), Tampa, Tucson and Washington D.C.

Most parties are black-tie affairs, though some are less formal. Some partygoers dress up as famous couples and some events feature limousine arrivals and red carpets complete with local celebrities, paparazzi and press interviews for arriving guests. To set these parties apart from the thousands of other events taking place on Oscar Night, each ONA party receives from the Academy copies of the official commemorative poster, and the official Oscar show program. Only one charity party in a given media market may participate in ONA. Events are entirely produced by local nonprofit organizations, with the active participation of the local ABC-TV affiliate station. Last year 52 charities hosted viewing parties for the 81st Academy Awards, raising more than $3 million, all of it remaining in local communities.

Michael Seligman Named Supervising Producer:

Michael B. Seligman has been named supervising producer of the 82nd Academy Awards telecast, marking his 33rd year of association with the Oscar ® show, telecast producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic announced on Thursday.

“We are excited and honored to work with one of the legends of the industry,” said Mechanic.

“I look forward to lovingly torturing Michael, as we all move toward putting together one of the most complicated and dynamic television events of the year,” added Shankman.

Seligman has received five Emmy nominations for his work on the Oscar telecasts. His other producing credits include “America’s Millennium,” a three-hour live New Year’s Eve celebration; the NBC special “Funny Women of Television”; and “Return to the Titanic . . .Live!”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.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.

Source: Oscars.org

First it was the shocking news of the Disney buying Marvel for $4 Billion. And now in a press release from AMPAS,  they’ve issued an unbelievable  new set of  Voting Rule changes in the Best Picture Category:

Preferential Voting Extended to Best Picture on Final Ballot for 2009 Oscars ®

Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed today that it will be using the preferential voting system to determine which of the 10 contenders for its Best Picture award will receive the 2009 Oscar. The system has long been used in the round of voting which determines the nominees in most categories, but it has not been used on the final ballot for Best Picture since 1945.

In June the Academy’s Board of Governors extended the Best Picture category from five to 10 nominees, which necessitated a change to the voting system for the category. With 10 nominees, the preferential system is one that best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.

“Instead of just marking an ‘X’ to indicate which one picture they believe to be the best, members will indicate their second, third and further preferences as well,” Academy President Tom Sherak said. “PricewaterhouseCoopers will then be able to establish the Best Picture recipient with the strongest support of a majority of our electorate.”

In 1934 and 1935, there were 12 nominees for Best Picture and the preferential system was used to determine the winners. From 1936 through 1943, there were 10 nominees for Best Picture and the preferential system was used for final balloting. In 1944 and 1945, the preferential system continued to be used, though there were only five nominees in the category.

This totally changes the way Oscar campaigns will be handled now, making the top 5 picks  pivotal. The way Steve Ponds over at “The Odds” explained it, “As a result, a film could be the first choice of the largest number of voters, but find itself nudged out of the top prize by another movie that got fewer number one votes but more twos and threes.” Nothing more than a huge popularity contest. Enough already, AMPAS!

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. 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 on ABC.

AMPAS is at it again with more new rules and changes.

A  significant change was made in the Music – Original Song category.

The governors approved the Music Branch Executive Committee recommendation that if no song achieves a minimum average score of 8.25 in the nominations voting, there be no original song nominees and thus no Oscar presented for the category. If only one song achieves the required minimum, it and the song with the next highest score will be deemed the nominees. If two or more songs achieve the minimum score, they will be the nominees though no more than five nominees can be selected. Previously, the rules dictated that there be no more than five but no fewer than three nominees in the category.

In addition and as previously announced, the Best Picture category will have ten nominees instead of five.

Other modifications of the rules include normal date changes and minor “housekeeping” changes.

Secondly,

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to establish a new annual event at which it will present its testimonial awards – the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award. Honorees will be selected and announced in September and presented their awards at a celebratory dinner event in November. They will also be acknowledged at the year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

“Acknowledged,” huh. More like they’re clearing out room already. Sounds like it’ll be mentioned, but the recipient won’t come up on stage to give an acceptance speech.  I know…lets give the statues out in the audience again, while we’re at it. AMPAS President Sid Ganis gave this explanation:

For some years now, the Board has struggled to balance the desire to truly honor worthy individuals with the time limitations that the Oscar ® telecast imposes on these honors,” said Academy President Sid Ganis. “By creating a separate event for recognizing these outstanding people in the movie industry, we’re insuring that each honoree will be given his or her full due, without compromise.

Sigh! What other changes can we expect from the Board of Governors of the Academy?

Academy Award nominations in all categories will be announced on February 2, 2010. The 82nd Academy Awards presentation will be telecast live by the ABC Television Network on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

Source: Oscars.org

Wow!! The title says it all, baby…

Beverly Hills, CA (June 24, 2009)  The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”

For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)

Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar ® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center ® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

What do you think of the shocking announcement from AMPAS?

Source: Oscars.org

Today is your last chance to come and see all 5 best picture nominated movies with Scott this Saturday, February 21st from 10:30am till 11:45pm at AMC Chesterfield Mall.

Here is the schedule:

If you haven’t already, leave a comment below..do it fast!

Warner Bros. has announced that they are officially re-releasing ‘The Dark Knight’ in theaters and IMAX on January 23rd, 2009. Ă‚  We reported a few months back that this was happening, but an official date wasn’t set.

Says Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution: “‘The Dark Knight’ is a crowning achievement in every sense of the word. We wanted to provide one more opportunity for moviegoers to experience it on the big screen as it was meant to be seen.”

The film has already broken so many box office records, and it sits at the #2 spot on the alltime domestic box office chart. Ă‚  It’s still about $70 million behind ‘Titanic’. Ă‚  With this re-release, it could, potentially, break that record, too, and it will undoubtedly top $1 billion worldwide.

Also, over at Dark Campaign, a grassroots effort to get ‘The Dark Knight’ a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Ă‚  They’ve put together a little video that you can check out here:

What do you think? Ă‚  Does ‘The Dark Knight’ have a shot in hell of toppling ‘Titanic’ or getting a Best Picture nomination? Ă‚  If you had to pick between those two, which would you rather see? Ă‚  Let us know by commenting below!

Sources: Variety, Dark Campaign

WB is starting a push for Heath Ledger and ‘The Dark Knight’ for Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture as you can see from the two below posters. Now I can easily see Ledger for Best Supporting Actor, but ‘The Dark Knight’ as best picture is a stretch and maybe even a big one. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the movie, but it is not Best Picture worthy. I know that I am going to take a lot of flack from the super geek ‘TDK’ fanboys but those fanboys were also calling for these awards a month out of ‘The Dark Knight’ releasing!

The posters are also very different than the posters/promo items they did for the movie release, these posters are actually almost completely opposite of what they were using to push the movie.

I will get behind Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor, but give me a break on the ‘Best Picture’ consideration WB… not going to happen.
THX to Cinematical for the posters.

After being #1 for four straight weeks at the box office, Oscar aficionado Sasha Stone of “Awards Daily”Ă‚  has declared that ‘The Dark Knight’ has officially earned its spot in the Best Picture race.

“This week, The Dark Knight has officially become too big to ignore. To not nominate it for Best Picture at this rate would undermine the process of having a Best Picture race in the first place; if you don’t honor a film this big you really do a dishonor to those who drive the entire business: the ticket buyers.”

Read more after the jump…..

This would give AMPAS and ABC the boost it sorely needs after years of falling ratings. God forbid that we ever see the threat of the telecast being on cable-only come to fruition.Ă‚  While I love the Oscars and host a party every year, something that Ram Man can attest to, I’d love to see something like a nomination for ‘The Dark Knight’ bring backĂ‚  ”the-must-see” viewership that the Academy Awards once held.Ă‚