The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the key dates for the 90th Academy Awards today and the biggest winners are, as expected, the Golden Globes.
Additionally, the Academy and ABC announced the telecast dates for the 91st, 92nd and 93rd Academy Awards which are set for February 24, 2019, February 23, 2020, and February 28, 2021, respectively.
Before jumping into how these dates impact awards season here’s the schedule announced:
Saturday, November 11, 2017 – Governors Awards
Friday, January 5, 2018 – Nominations voting opens
Friday, January 12, 2018 – Nominations voting closes
Tuesday, January 23, 2018 – Oscar Nominations Announcement
Monday, February 5, 2018 – Oscar Nominees Luncheon
Saturday, February 10, 2018 – Scientific and Technical Awards
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 – Finals voting opens
Tuesday, February 27, 2018 – Finals voting closes
Wednesday, February 28, 2018 – The Oscar Concert
Sunday, March 4, 2018 – 90th Oscars
The 90th ceremony was previously set for March 4 outside of its traditional February date because the 2018 Winter Games take place during its broadcast window. As expected, the schedule means the Golden Globes will air five full days before final ballots are due for the Oscar nominations are due for the second year in a row. Traditionally, voters, consultants, the Academy and pundits were able to dismiss the Globes in some respects as just a December PR opportunity when their nominations are announced because the HFPA’s ceremony either took place after nominations were due or, at worst, the night before. 2017 was the first time this century that the window between the Globes and the voting deadline was so long and it changed that thinking. Many believe that both Meryl Streep, who made global headlines for her lifetime achievement award acceptance speech, and Isabelle Huppert, who was a surprise Best Actress in a Drama winner, locked up their Best Actress nominations after their memorable nights. There has always been a tremendous amount of pressure on the 80 or so members of the HFPA who face intense unofficial lobbying over their votes, but 2018 may find them under a spotlight they’ve never experienced before.
There will also be a longer time frame next season between the announcement of the nominations (Jan. 23) and when final voting opens (Feb. 20). That’s over four weeks of lag time that will no doubt make many consultants and publicists nervous. Why the Academy doesn’t move the voting period earlier or extend it is somewhat quizzical, but it will likely lead to lots of unintended and silly trend stories about backlash over one nominee or another that at least someone will find entertaining.
It should be noted the previously announced Oscars Concert set for Feb. 28 with the LA Phil is only the beginning of what is expected to be a week of celebrations for the 90th anniversary of Hollywood’s biggest and most historic night.
