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.
“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.
“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 Pricewaterhouse Coopers tabulating is done by hand, it’s not done by computers. … They can turn things around quickly but they still need time.”
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.
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.
I hope WALL-E ends up on the Best Picture Nod. If it doesn’t I will not watch the oscars.
I also like to see the Dark Knight end up on the category, but I’m not giving it too much support because it is the most overrated movie in history. Still, I love that movie.
What is it about animated movies to discriminate? Finding Nemo should have receive a Best Picture nod long ago. It had great storytelling. Are people saying that if WALL-E was completely live action, then it deserves the nod?
WALL-E is waay better than Shrek. WALL-E is certainly not funnier than Shrek, but Shrek is what it is, a majorily comedy, while WALL-E focused more on a unique storyline. Plus WALL-E costed 180,000,000 to make. So many people worked so hard on it. Ben Burtt did amazing sound design, Stanton wrote his most daring script, the computer graphics were realistic, Newman did a beautiful themed score, etc.,etc.
I also find WALL-E to be better than Beauty and the Beast. That was a great movie, but WALL-E told the better story.
WALL-E is not one of the bloated romance films like the overrated Titanic. Titanic did nothing but circled around Jack and Rose romance. There were many things going on beside WALL-E’s and EVE’s romance- There was a legathic society, a polluted Earth, and machines discovering life. And WALL-E romance with EVE affected humanity.
If WALL-E doesn’t show up on the Best Picture category, I will never watch the Oscars again. Mark my words.
WALL-E is no animated film. Saying that is discriminating. WALL-E is a movie.
@ caroline
Have you ever seen more than just action and animated films? There’s a lot more to what Oscar nominees have in them compared to what some “cute” animated movie has. I will agree, I did enjoy Wall-E, but the academy never goes for much of that kid based, or anything the general populous thinks is the best thing ever, such as blockbusters. I would be very shocked to see any animated film ever make it to the best picture nominations, not judging them themselves, but they nearly have meaning and passion, emotion, controversy. Which is something that normally makes a movie great. You can’t tell me you’d base you watching of an award show for the future of…. forever; based all upon the opinions of one film. Not meaning to be offensive, but I find that to be a very narrow-minded opinion.
Will any of the Twilight cast be at any of the Awards shows this season?