Oscar 2013 dates and voting schedule
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the schedule for the final round of voting for the 2013 Academy Awards. Academy members will begin voting for the Oscar 2013 winners beginning at 8 a.m. PT on Friday, February 8. Balloting will come to a close at 5 p.m. PT on Tuesday, February 19. (Photo: Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained.)
In one interesting sign of "voting flexibility," the Academy will allow members who voted online during the nominations round to use paper ballots in the final round, if they so wish. Those Academy members who registered to vote online may ask for a paper ballot by contacting the Academy’s Membership Department by Friday, February 1. During the nominations round of voting, there were widespread reports of online voting woes.
Oscar 2013: Increasing ‘member engagement’
According to the Academy’s press release, "several voting resources will once again be available to members." Those include a 24-hour call center and "assisted voting stations" in Los Angeles, New York, and London.
According to a quote found in the Academy’s press release, AMPAS Chief Operating Officer Ric Robertson claims that one of the Academy’s "basic goals" is to "increase member engagement. Despite some challenges, more members voted for this year’s nominations than they have in the past several years." Needless to say, no actual figures or percentages were provided.
Oscar 2013 nominations
This year’s nine Best Picture nominees are the following: Michael Haneke’s Amour, Ben Affleck’s Argo, Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild.
In the Best Foreign Language Film category, the nominees are Michael Haneke’s Amour, Austria; Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s Kon-Tiki, Norway; Pablo Larraín’s No, Chile; Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair, Denmark; and Kim Nguyen’s War Witch, Canada.
The Best Director nominees are Ang Lee, Benh Zeitlin, David O. Russell, Steven Spielberg, and Michael Haneke. [Text amended. Please see comments below.]
In the acting categories, the nominees are the following:
- Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty; Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook; Emmanuelle Riva, Amour; Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild; Naomi Watts, The Impossible.
- Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook; Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln; Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables; Joaquin Phoenix, The Master; Denzel Washington, Flight.
- Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, Argo; Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook; Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master; Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln; Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained.
- Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Master; Sally Field, Lincoln; Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables; Helen Hunt, The Sessions; Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook.
The 2013 Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. Seth MacFarlane will host the proceedings.
Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained photo: The Weinstein Company.
