Oscar Ballots Out To Voters
Nomination ballots for the 76th Academy Awards were mailed Dec. 29, 2003 to the 5,803 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5:00 pm, Jan. 17, 2004.
All nomination and final award ballots are tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers under the direction of partners Greg Garrison and Rick Rosas, who ensure that all aspects of the balloting process are conducted with fairness and accuracy.
The outcome of the massive advertising and marketing campaigns by the studios to woo nomination votes will be known on Jan. 27 when the nominations are announced at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater at 5:30 am.
Midnight on Dec. 31, marks the final deadline for a feature film to begin a seven-day run in Los Angeles County to officially qualify for 76th Academy Awards consideration.
"In order for a film to be eligible for an Oscar nomination, producers were required to submit the Official Screen Credits form to the Academy by December 1," said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Frank Pierson. "Every year a number of films begin the one-week qualifying run near the end of December, but there aren't any surprises since the forms have already been received."
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2003 will be presented on Feb. 29 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland and televised live by the ABC at 5:00 pm, beginning with a half-hour arrival segment.