As the 83rd Academy Awards Approaches…

The Academy Awards anxiety is building as 5755 nomination ballots for the 83rd Oscar ceremony were mailed. The ballots were sent to voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences(AMPAS).

Ensuring that the ballots are prepared is quite a process. Prior to mailing, the PricewaterhouseCoopers's staff administers a methodical confirmation process to be sure that there are no duplicates and that nothing is missing. In addition to being counted and sorted, the ballots are numbered to assure that each one is addressed to the suitable voter.The completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. PT on Friday, January 14, 2011.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is considered the world's paramount

movie-related organization. Its members are more than 6,000 of the most proficient men and women working in cinema.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PST in the academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.The awards for marvelous film achievements of 2010 will be presented on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.The presentation will be telecast live in more than 200 countries.

An Opportunity for Oscar Fans To Win Red Carpet Seats At The 83rd Academy Awards

Oscar Fans across the globe can apply online to take part in a random drawing for seats on the 83rd Academy Awards red carpet.There are just  700 seats offered along the 500-foot-long walkway that leads into the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. Those who are selected will look at and cheer Oscar nominees, presenters and other ceremony guests as they arrive at the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday, February 27, 2011. Subsequent to the red carpet arrivals, every person seated in the bleachers will be invited to watch the Academy Awards telecast at a nearby location.

The application form will be obtainable at oscars.org/bleachers. The online-only application process will close up on Sunday, September 19, at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT.

To be qualified for the random drawing, an individual must complete the application form completely. Applications need to be only submitted online. Forms cannot be returned via any other method.Applicants can register for themselves and additionally one guest. Duplicate registrations will not be acknowledged.

Those individuals who are selected in the random drawing will be intimated  in late September. After that it is essential to submit additional information for security purposes prior to final approval. Eligible attendees will obtain a confirmation letter in early January with information relevant to the event.Only those people who have been pre-approved by the Academy will have access to the bleachers. Those who remain overnight to attempt admittance will not be approved entry.

In the past years, as many as around 20,000 fans have applied online for the limited number of red carpet seats.

Academy Awards Extends the ‘Visual’ Effects Category to 5

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS),for decades has offered three films for consideration for Best "Visual" Effects at the Academy Awards. But from the 83rd Annual Academy Awards , there will be five nominees in this category.

In finalizing the rules for the 2011 Oscar event and broadcast at its June 22nd meeting, the AMPAS Board of Governors elected to increase the list from three to five, the most noteworthy rule change to come out of that meeting.

Only once in 1979 were actually 5 movies recognized, though there was an option to include upto 5 nominees in the nomination. Between 1980 and 1995, 2 or 3 movies could be nominated. But by 1996, rules were changed so that exactly 3 could be nominated.

But the new Visual Effects nomination number is not the only alteration to come out of the June 22nd meeting.In another Tweak,AMPAS has reduced the eligibility for Best Animated Feature Film nominees  from 70 minutes to 40 minutes.

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday,February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and will be telecast live on the ABC Television Network.

The most awaited event of the year - Oscars 2010

Its that time of the year again for the Hollywood's biggest event - Oscars 2010.The event will witness stunning stars descend on the red carpet in their chic suits / flowy gowns and vintage jewellery and walk away with the golden statuettes.


The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be held at the Kodak Theatre on Mar 7th at Hollywood,Los Angeles and awards will be presented for stupendous performances for the year 2009.Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will be hosting this spectacular event, which is the most watched event across the globe.

The Ceremony of the 81st Academy Awards:

This years oscars which was held on Feb 22nd at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles turned out to be the event of greatest significance.The show's producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon had committed to offer a totally different kind of show and it was indeed one of the best telecasts of oscar history.The ceremony was telecast live on the ABC Television Network as well as in more than 200 countries worldwide.

The greatest surprise was the opening song and dance medley by the first time host Hugh Jackman(in picture).The medley was a spoof of all the pictures which were nominated for the night.It was greatly appreciated by the audience and it received a standing ovation from them.The acting awards were presented in a unique manner as the previous 5 Oscar winners in each category took turns and introduced the nominees and applauded their work.

The best picture award was given to "SlumDog Millionaire" .In total this film received 8 awards.Sean Penn won the best actor award , Kate Winslet won the best actress award while Penelope Cruz won the best supporting actress award.Late Heath Ledger was given the oscar for the best supporting actor.Actor, writer , director and producer Jerry Lewis was honoured with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The 81st Academy Awards

The most awaited event at the beginning of this year, the Oscars, the 81st Academy awards is to be held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Feb 22nd.The actor Hugh Jackman would be hosting this year’s Oscars for the first time.

Here are some of the movies nominated for the oscars:
Changeling, The Visitor, Doubt, Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Dark Knight



Lets keep our fingers crossed until the 22nd.