Final Oscar® Ballots are in the Mail.

I remember that I wrote my next post would be: "Oscar® Acting Nominations Compared to Screen Actors Guild Awards." Of course, the order of posts depend upon what communications I get from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Today I received one.

But first, I want to report that I have now seen all but one of the movies nominated for Best Motion Picture of 2010, that one being '127 Hours.' After seeing 'The Kings Speech', I can unequivocally say that, of all the movies I have seen this past year, 'The King's Speech' comes the closest to being the most perfect film of them all - - acting, directing, writing and technical.

I wish I could now hear the score by Alexandre Desplat because I was hardly aware of the music while viewing the film, and that is how a perfect film score should be. I was in awe of how Colin Firth seemed to actually have a speech defect. Talk about perfection. But, more about the acting in, hopefully the next post.

Final ballots for the 83rd Academy Awards® were mailed today (February 2nd) to the 5,755 voting members of the Academy. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by 5 p.m., PT, Tuesday, February 22nd.  Ballots received at PwC after the deadline will not be counted. Trust me, they mean it.

I remember when I was at PwC, actor Richard Crenna called me in a panic. He claimed his secretary had failed to send the ballot to arrive the day before, and he wanted to messenger his ballot over to me at once. My answer was, of course, "Sorry, Dick. Not possible." He was a fellow Trojan, and I often thought about calling him to see if he fired his secretary, but I didn't.

Listed on the final Oscar ballots mailed today 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 Night®, Sunday, February 27th. On that night, Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.