Oscar moves back to February

Los Angeles: Next year's Academy Awards will take place on the last Sunday in February, returning to a slot they vacated this year to avoid competing with the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.

The 79th annual bash will be held on February 25 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, and will again be broadcast live by ABC, said the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The awards this year were given out on March 5.

The slightly earlier date means that the entire nominations and balloting process will take place at a somewhat accelerated schedule.

Nominations will be announced January 23 at 0530 at the academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.