Dates for Next Academy Awards® Announced

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® has already released key dates scheduled for the 83rd Academy Awards® to be presented Sunday, February 27, 2011. The ceremony will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, California, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Key dates currently scheduled are:

* Saturday, November 13, 2010: Governors Awards presentation.
* Wednesday, December 1, 2010: Official Screen Credits forms due.
* Monday, December 27, 2010: Nominations ballots mailed.
* Official Screen Credits forms due.
* Monday, December 27, 2010: Nominations ballots mailed.
* Friday, January 14, 2011: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT.
* Tuesday, January 25, 2011: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
* Wednesday, February 2, 2011: Final ballots mailed.
* Monday, February 7, 2011: Nominees Luncheon.
* Saturday, February 12, 2011: Scientific and Technical Awards presentation.
* Tuesday, February 22, 2011: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT.
* Sunday, February 27, 2011: 83rd Annual Academy Awards presentation.

Some dates to be announced later:

Deadline for Documentary short subjects and Feature Documentaries submissions.
Deadline for entry forms with documentation and prints or digital copies, for Best Foreign Language Film, live action and animated feature shorts.
Deadline to qualify for the Best Animated Feature Category.
Deadline for prints in the Best Animated Feature category to arrive at the Academy.

The schedule for the 83rd Academy Awards is posted on the right sidebar. It will be added to as dates are announced, and will remain until after February 2011.

AMPAS® moves 82nd Oscar® Gala to early March!

Hugh Jackman, second from right, host of 81st awards.


Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, announced yesterday that the 82nd Annual Academy Awards® (Oscars®) presentation gala will be held Sunday, 7 March 2010. Hooray!

As those of you who follow this blog know, I have posted that one of the contributing factors to the steep decline in ratings for the Oscar telecast over the past three years has been the early date. I maintained that March gives more time for the Academy to publicize the event.

Well, this past February, the rating for the 81st Oscar broadcast (2009) on the Walt Disney company's ABC network, was 12.1 in the key demographic group of adults 18-49, and the broadcast attracted 36.3 million viewers overall, up 4.3 million from last year. There was a gain of 13% in that demographic group from last year, which was the lowest since 1992. Last year, a combination of factors, including the writers strike, impacted the ratings.

No doubt the writers strike wounded a number of shows in 2008, and was one cause of the lowest Academy Award gala in at least a decade. The telecast drew about 33% of people watching television, a steep decline from 2007's 42%. For more 81st Oscar ratings analysis, click title of this post.

The ceremony will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Key dates currently scheduled are:

Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due.
Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed.
Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m., PT.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m., PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed.
Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon.
Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m., PT.
Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation.

Will the telecast ratings go up again this year? If so, how much? Sorry. I'm not going out on a limb to answer either question, except to say, "We shall see."

Ready for the 81st Academy Awards®?

Ready or not, here come the 81st Annual Academy Awards®. Well, the information about the annual ritual for 2009, anyway. Academy President Sid Ganis announced today that the awards will be presented Sunday, 22 February 2009. The ceremony will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Key dates currently scheduled are:

Monday, December 1, 2008 - Official Screen Credits forms due;
Friday, December 26, 2008 - Nominations ballots mailed;
Monday, January 12, 2009 - Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT;
Thursday, January 22, 2009 - Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater;
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - Final ballots mailed;
Monday, February 2, 2009 - Nominees Luncheon;
Saturday, February 7, 2009 - Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation;
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - Final polls close 5 p.m. PT;
Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 81st Annual Academy Awards presentation.

NOTE the change of the day for the nominations announcement, which had to be changed from Tuesday to Thursday because 20 February is the Presidential Inauguration in 2009.

There will soon be a link on the right sidebar for the 81st Academy Awards Schedule.