Day & Date Change – 85th Academy Awards Nominations Now On Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced key dates for the 85th Academy Awards season. Oscar obsessivas – ready for this?

In an effort to provide members and the public a longer period of time to see the nominated films, the Academy will reveal the 85th Academy Awards nominations on January 10, five days earlier than previously announced. A Thursday morning instead of the standard Tuesday. You can bet the screenings for the December released films will be in full gear due to today’s announcement by The Academy. Not that it matters to Oscar watchers, but where does this leave the other award shows? The 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air live on Sunday, January 13, 2013. How exciting will that show be now! More red carpet banter to be sure. As for the annual Broadcast Film Critics Association show? The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards show fell on a Thursday earlier this year – January 12th to be exact. This group will have to get watching the end of the year films mach schnell. No word yet from them on when their show will now air.

In addition, this will be the first time the Academy will provide its membership the opportunity to vote electronically. Together with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Everyone Counts, the Academy has been developing an electronic voting process for more than a year. The Academy conducted extensive research and held numerous focus groups with its members to ensure a smooth transition and widespread adoption. The Academy will make several voting resources available to members during the transition, including the installation of assisted voting stations in Los Angeles, New York and London, a 24-hour telephone help line during voting periods, and paper ballots.

In the pre-Nominations phase, members will continue to vote via paper ballot in eight categories due to specialized screening schedules and processes. Those categories are Animated Feature Film, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling and Visual Effects.

The Academy Awards ceremony will be held at The Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. A 90-minute red carpet show will immediately precede the broadcast.