The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences To Set The Date of Oscars Ceremony

Hollywoodreporter.com: On Monday morning, four days after meeting and voting to enact a number of major diversity measures, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will again convene via Zoom to tackle another pressing issue: the date of Hollywood's biggest night of 2021.

The 93rd Oscars ceremony has long been scheduled for Feb. 28, but the coronavirus pandemic has thrown 2020 into disarray for Hollywood, shuttering theaters across America; preventing production and post-production work on films that were slated to be ready for release by year's end; and disrupting elite film festivals like those in Cannes and Venice that often serve as launching pads for contenders.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the Academy's 54 governors are likely to delay the ceremony's date by as many as eight weeks, and to extend the eligibility window beyond Dec. 31, 2020, in recognition of the fact that the coronavirus has not yet receded — in fact, California's three highest days of new reported cases have all happened this month — and, according to some experts, could surge again with a 'second wave' before year's end.

The governors are not expected to determine the format for the ceremony yet — in-person or virtual — as they feel they still have time to see how the pandemic unfolds before making that call. They did, however, need to put a hold on a new date on the calendar of their broadcasting partner, ABC.