Apr 14, 2008 4:02 pm US/Eastern
Inauguration Alters 2009 Oscar Calendar
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) ―
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Oscar nominees are usually revealed on a Tuesday about four weeks before the big show, which is typically held the last Sunday in February.
What's more significant: the inauguration of a new U.S. president or
the announcement of the year's Oscar nominees? The Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences decided politics takes precedence, announcing
Monday that it has delayed the nominations announcement by two days.
Oscar nominees are usually revealed on a Tuesday about four weeks
before the big show, which is typically held the last Sunday in
February. For 2009, though, the targeted Tuesday — Jan. 20 — is
Inauguration Day.
So the 81st annual Oscar nominees will be revealed Thursday, Jan.
22, and the Academy Awards will be presented Sunday, Feb. 22 — the
earliest Oscars ever.
"It didn't make any sense for us to try to compete with (the
inauguration) from a news point of view," academy Executive
Administrator Ric Robertson told The Associated Press.
But the change will put the squeeze on the rest of the calendar, Robertson said.
"Ballots are due Jan. 12, and nominations are announced 10 days
later, so that's getting pretty close to the minimum," he said. "The
most critical path is the balloting-voting process. Since we remain
committed, for security reasons, to paper balloting, and all
PricewaterhouseCoopers tabulating is done by hand, it's not done by
computers. ... They can turn things around quickly but they still need
time."
Delaying the nominations also tightens production time for the Oscar
telecast, since the show's makeup depends largely on the nominees.
Producers of the ceremony usually have four and a half weeks to
prepare. In 2009, it will be one month to the day.
"I know that whoever produces the show would like to have more
time," Robertson said, "and this will be two days less than they've had
in past years."
The 2009 presidential inauguration isn't the first event that
prompted the academy to alter its calendar. The Oscar show was moved
from the last Sunday in February in 2006 so it wouldn't conflict with
the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, Robertson said.
"We have to look at other major global events," he said.
The academy's board of governors decided in 2004 to move the Oscar
show from late March to late February to combat "awards fatigue" and
"to maintain a higher level of interest and excitement," Robertson said.
Key dates for the 2009 Academy Awards are:
• Dec. 26, 2008: Nominations ballots mailed.
• Jan. 12: Nominations ballots due.
• Jan. 22: Nominees announced.
• Jan. 28: Final ballots mailed.
• Feb. 17: Final ballots due.
• Feb. 22: 81st annual Academy Awards.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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