A Preview Of The 2012 Academy Awards
2012 Academy Awards
Kodak Theatre
6801 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood CA 90028
(323) 308-6300
www.oscars.org
Hours: Feb. 26 4 p.m. PST; 7 p.m. EST
The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, is the oldest, best known and most prestigious awards of the season. The 84th annual celebration of the Oscars will be held this Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
After a shakeup of the line up back in November, during which Brett Ratner and actor Eddie Murphy resigned as producer and host of the show respectively, filmmaker Brian Grazer was announced as the new producer of the 2012 Oscars and actor Billy Crystal as the returning show host – his 9th time at it.
The award show will include a short appearance by the recipients of this year's Academy Honorary Awards: James Earl Jones and Dick Smith, and of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey. During their time on stage, the public will see a summary recording of the actual award presentations at the annual Governors Awards ceremony, which was held November 12, 2011. Prior to 2009, these awards were presented during the main Oscar ceremony, but they have since been given separately for the past three years in an effort to control the length of the Academy Awards show.
This year's awards poster pays homage to several past Best Picture winners. Under the line "Life. Camera. Action," the poster features pictures of classic films like "Gone with the Wind," "Casablanca," "The Sound of Music," "The Godfather" and others, next to a large depiction of the golden Oscar statue. A message under the graphics reads: "Celebrate the movies in all of us," which the Academy's president Tom Sherka explained in a written statement as follows: "Whether it is a first date or a holiday gathering with friends or family, movies are a big part of our memory. The Academy Awards not only honor the excellence of these movies, but also celebrate what they mean to us as a culture and to each of us individually." The poster was created by award-winning graphic designer Anthony Goldschmidt and Mark and Karen Crawford of the design firm Blood&Chocolate.
On December 27 the nomination ballots were mailed to the 5,783 voting members of the Academy. The completed ballots were due back on January 13 and it was the results of those votes that determined the list of nominations that was announced just over a week later on January 24. The nominations list was then given to the Academy voting members once again, this time with instructions to turn in only one vote per category.
Related: Scorsese's 'Hugo' Leads Oscars With 11 Nominations
The films with the most votes became the winners, and the award presentations to those fortunate ones is what most of us will get to watch on television this weekend. A few VIPs will attend wearing the most splendid fashions available anywhere.
The 2012 Academy Awards show will be televised by ABC on Sunday February 26 at 4 p.m. PST and seen live in more than 225 countries.
Related: Top Critics Choice Awards Nominations
Dena Burroughs is a freelance writer living in Azusa, CA. She is a CSULA graduate with specialties in Creative Writing and Communications. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
