No Zoom or Microsoft Teams for this year's Oscars.
It may be a sign of things returning to normal or just hopeful thinking, but already, a number of concerts have been planned for 2021 and for the movie industry, an in-person Oscar ceremony is expected in April of next year.
Variety is reporting that the planning stages have begun in earnest for this year / next year's Oscars ceremony, with the venue likely to be the 3,400-seater Dolby Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Given how badly impacted both the movie industry and the US generally has been by the pandemic, this might feel a little premature.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, better known as AMPAS, pushed back the eligibility dates for movies to February 21st and the ceremony itself until April 25th. Normally, a total of four televised ceremonies lead up to the Oscars - the Golden Globes, the Critics' Choice, the SAG Awards, and then BAFTA.
So far, they're scheduled for February 28th, March 7th, March 14th, and April 11th respectively, but given the muddled state of release windows, distribution plans, film festivals and everything else, there are no clear Oscar favourites in place like in previous years.
Early signs are pointing to 'Nomadland', starring Frances McDormand, as an early contender while 'Supernova', 'Mank', and 'One Night In Miami' are also expected to have some presence in the nominations.