The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) says that the Oscar race begins today at 5:30 AM PDT, but really it's over at that time.
When the nominees are announced it will mark the end of the marketing period, where studios and producers try to get Academy voters to pick their films for the award categories they applied to be considered for.
Now, all of the ballots from Academy members are in (one hopes) and the votes are going to be tallied. But the real voting basis, who's nominated for what category, is announced today.
Oscars Livestream
You can watch the announcements online here via the Oscars livestream. The page with the video will appear with a click here: http://oscar.go.com/ Meanwhile, I'll provide the blog updates here, below.
Here we go with Tom Sherak and Monique!
The Result: True Grit Enters
The announcements are over, and overall the surprise is the solid entry of True Grit in the major categories. Jeff Bridges is rightfully nominated for his role as Rooster Cogburn in the Coen Brothers take on the classic film that starred John Wanye in 1969.
True Grit was controversially snubbed at the Golden Globes.
Stay tuned for more commentary. The entire Oscars Nominees list is here.