254 Movies Up For Oscars Best Picture Award

[Tuesday, December 30th, 2003]
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as announced that the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2003 will be chosen from a list of 254 feature-length films.

Nomination ballots and a complete list of the 254 eligible films were mailed this week to members of the Academy. According to Academy rules, to qualify for consideration a feature-length motion picture must have a running length of more than 40 minutes and have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format. The films must open in a commercial theater, for paid admission, in Los Angeles County between January 1, 2003, and midnight December 31, 2003, and run for seven consecutive days. Films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. Official screen credit forms and copies of the main and end title credits must have been submitted to the Academy by December 1, 2003.

Films submitted in the Documentary, Foreign Language, Animated Feature and Short Films categories have different eligibility requirements and are viewed and selected by special voting panels of Academy members.

The 76th Academy Award nominations will be announced at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Tuesday, January 27, 2004.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2003 will be presented on Sunday, February 29, 2004, from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland and televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 p.m. PST, beginning with a half-hour arrival segment.

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