Earlier today I mentioned how Oscar nomination ballots were due this Thursday, January 3, the same day the WGA, Art Directors and Producers Guild announce their nominees, but just now the Academy sent out a press release noting they will be extending the deadline by one day.
Academy COO Ric Robertson said in the release, "By extending the voting deadline we are providing every opportunity available to make the transition to online balloting as smooth as possible. We're grateful to our global membership for joining us in this process."
The mentioning of the new online process of voting is interesting considering Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter wrote last week how the online voting was causing problems with some voters when it comes to navigation as well as forgetting or misusing passwords. This caused speculation the older voting bloc of the Academy, out of frustration, may decide not to vote at all with more than one Academy member calling the site a "disaster."
Several members stressed that they carefully typed in their password three different times, were rejected each time and, after the third, were locked out of trying again until they contacted the toll-free help line. Some say they endured considerable wait times, only to be told that they could set a new password but would need to wait 24 hours for the password database to refresh before they could try again.
Of course, the deadline change is going to cause a disruption in the online voting system, which will be closed for two hours on Thursday, January 3 (from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT) to accommodate the extension and maintain security. The system will re-open at 7 p.m. PT on January 3 and remain available to members until 5:00 p.m. PT January 4.
Whether this will have any impact on the voting or if voting in general will be down we'll never know considering the Academy never reveals information on how many people have voted, how they voted, etc.
The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
I have updated the Awards Calendar to reflect this change, which you can find right here.
'Before Sunrise' Location Map - Celine and Jesse in Vienna
'Blood Ties' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
'Inside Llewyn Davis' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
Two New 'Wolverine' Posters Feature Yukio and Viper
Zod and Jor-El Featured in Four New 'Man of Steel' Posters
'As I Lay Dying' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
'Shield of Straw' (2013) Movie Review - Cannes Film Festival
Weinstein Dates 'Butler' for August 16 Release
First 'August: Osage County' Trailer with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts
Oscar Rule Changes Mean Nothing Until There is Full Transparency
2014 Golden Globe Dates Set and Seth MacFarlane Back for 2014 Oscars?
Is 'Oblivion' Our First Major 2014 Oscar Sound Contender?
Interesting... I wonder why they decided to use online voting, considering that the majority of the academy are old white men who live in LA, and are more comfortable with the old and outdated device called paper ballots.
a lot of them are old, black men I'm sure. why single them out as a single race. Stereotyping?
The majority of Academy voters are over the age of 65 and white. It's a statistical fact.
No, I was not intending to stereotype. I had just read the article below, and remembered it. Again, I was not intending to be racist, and I'm sorry.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/academy/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-html,0,7473284.htmlstory
Sounds like a case of a bunch of old people who don't know how to use computers. And honestly, probably don't watch many of the films. The Oscars really are a complete sham.
Sounds to me like a crap website. Those being contemptuous of 'a bunch of old people' should remember that these are the guys who made those 1970s movies that everyone reveres as a golden age of American cinema.
Just want to clarify that I think the lack of diversity in both the Academy and the movie industry in general is absolutely outrageous.