It seems that Oscar may be given a little bit of a revamping in the future.

According to Moviefone, Deadline.com is reporting that a meeting at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences involved a discussion that could lead to the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony being aired in January, as opposed to its usual date in late February/early March. (This isn't the first date change, the first ceremony was actually held in May.)

Last year's Academy Awards was the highest watched telecast since 2005 with over 40 million viewers, so ratings shouldn't be the problem.


Reasons for the change could be to increase January box-office sales, the industry's slowest month, or to increase the impact it has compared to the Golden Globes or Screen Actors Guild Awards. Both ceremonies air before the Oscars and are usually used as an indicator as to who will take home the statue.

Although no official decision has been made, movie fans are quick to point out the downsides -- there would be less time for judges to watch the films, and since most contenders are released in the last week of December, most wouldn't be in wide-release in time for the ceremony.

However, after much clamoring in the blogosphere, an Academy Awards spokesperson assured EW.com that the change would not be an immediate one. "The discussion was about the possibility of doing so no sooner than the 84th Academy Awards, to be held in 2012," she said. "The date for the next Oscar telecast, the 83rd, has already been announced and is firm: February 27, 2011."

To read more, check out our friends at Moviefone and Entertainment Weekly.


Tell us: Do you think changing the date would be a smart move?