The Oscars are returning to February come 2011, after holding off until March this past year due to the Winter Olympics. By thus shortening the "Oscar season", and still expanding the list of Best Picture nominees to ten films, look to this next year to be a shorter but more intense Oscar marathon.

The 83rd annual ceremony will take place on the last Sunday in February, which falls on February 27th, 2011.  For decades, the ceremonies were held in late March or early April, until the 2004 decision to move the annual awards gala to February. Despite this move to February, many in the industry complained of “awards fatigue” although awards season is considerably shorter than in years past. The ceremonies again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network in the US. Nearly 1 billion people around the world were able to watch the telecast live this year over a network of satellite channels.

In a somewhat disappointing piece of news, the Academy is sticking to its new policy of holding a seperate Honorees Gala in November. While this is certainly a nice affair, it is a private one that is not shared with the public at large. At this year's ceremony, honorees Roger Corman and Lauren Bacall were given momentary nods during the live ceremony.....a great shame for their fans and for those viewers who enjoy seeng the veterans get their due.

Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor