Oscar fans in New York City will be the first to see the actual Oscars that will be presented to the Best Actor and Best Actress winners at the 84th Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday, February 26. The statuettes will be part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Meet the Oscars, Grand Central” exhibition at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal.

The exhibition will open on Wednesday, February 22 at 10 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by 2010 Academy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo (‘The Fighter’). Public viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, February 23, through Sunday, February 26. Admission is free.

“Meet the Oscars, Grand Central” will give movie fans the opportunity to have their photo taken holding an actual Oscar statuette. Visitors also will be able to view the Actor in a Leading Role Oscar won by Michael Douglas for “Wall Street” (1987) as well as a display of statuettes in various stages of completion, as manufactured each year by R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago.

On Saturday, February 25, the Oscars designated for this year’s Best Actor and Best Actress winners will make their way back to Hollywood, where they will be reunited with the rest of the statuettes to be presented on Oscar Night.

In related news, Oscar telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have invited Cirque du Soleil to present a wholly unique and exclusive performance for the 84th Academy Awards. The one-time-only event will feature the largest Cirque cast ever assembled for a single act.

The performance will be accompanied by music by Academy Award-nominated composer Danny Elfman, who scored the music for Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS, A Journey through the World of Cinema™. More than 50 international artists from Cirque du Soleil productions around the world will converge in Los Angeles on Oscar Sunday to bring the dynamic showcase to life.

The act marks the second time Cirque du Soleil has performed during an Academy Awards telecast. The troupe’s first appearance, at the 74th Academy Awards, sparked discussions about creating a permanent show at the Kodak Theatre and resulted in the creation of IRIS.

Finally, two-time Academy Award winner Michael Douglas will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony. Douglas won an Oscar for his lead performance in ‘Wall Street’ (1987) and a Best Picture award as a producer of ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975). His film credits include ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ ‘Solitary Man,’ ‘You, Me and Dupree,’ ‘Traffic,’ ‘Wonder Boys,’ ‘Falling Down,’ ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘The China Syndrome.’

Douglas joins a stellar list of previously announced Oscar presenters, including Halle Berry, Rose Byrne, Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, Ellie Kemper, Jennifer Lopez, Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Ben Stiller, Emma Stone and Kristen Wiig.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements in 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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To ensure public safety, support security strategies and facilitate the production of the 84th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the City of Los Angeles have finalized street closure plans around the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.

To accommodate the construction of press risers, fan bleachers and pre-show stages along the Academy Awards red carpet, Hollywood Boulevard will be closed between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive beginning at 10 p.m. on Sunday, February 19, and remain closed until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, February 28.

MTA subway trains will bypass the Hollywood & Highland station after the last regularly scheduled train on Saturday, February 25, until 6 a.m. Monday, February 27. Service at the station will resume with the first scheduled train after 6 a.m.

Between Sunday, February 19, and Oscar Sunday, February 26, additional streets and sidewalks will be closed for varying periods.

Details of the closures and maps of affected areas are available from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Sixth and the Thirteenth District City Council field offices, at www.navigatehollywood.com, and on the Academy’s website at www.oscars.org/closures.

In related news, Hollywood icons Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy will present at the 84th Academy Awards, This is the Muppets fifth appearance at the Academy Awards.

They are fresh off their triumphant critical and box office success in Disney’s ‘The Muppets,’ which is Oscar nominated for Best Song, “Man or Muppet.”

Ben Stiller will also be presenting. Stiller will be playing the title character in ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, which he is also directing, and will be seen next in ‘Neighborhood Watch’. His film credits include ‘Tropic Thunder’, ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’, ‘Zoolander,’ ‘Meet the Parents’, ‘There’s Something about Mary’, ‘Flirting with Disaster’ and ‘Reality Bites’.

Finally, Tina Fey will present as well. Fey came to prominence as a regular on Saturday Night Live and currently stars in, produces and writes for the Emmy-winning comedy series 30 Rock.  Her film credits include ‘Date Night,’ ‘Baby Mama’ and ‘Mean Girls’. Fey recently became a best-selling author, with her memoir Bossypants having sold over one million copies.

Fey joins a stellar list of previously announced Oscar presenters, including Halle Berry, Rose Byrne, Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, Ellie Kemper, Jennifer Lopez, Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Emma Stone and Kristen Wiig.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Image Courtesy of   Vinicius Tupinamba / Shutterstock.com

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has entered into an agreement with Everyone Counts Inc. to exclusively develop an electronic voting system for the 85th Academy Awards, to be held in 2013.

Everyone Counts will work with PwC, the Academy’s accounting firm of record, whose role in tabulating Academy members’ votes will remain unchanged. Over the next year, the Academy will undertake a rigorous security and user-acceptance testing process.

“This is the first of many steps that we’ll be taking toward developing a secure and convenient electronic voting system, beginning with next year’s ballot,” said Academy Chief Operating Officer Ric Robertson. “We’re excited to have found great partners in the people who do this best.”

The selection of Everyone Counts is the result of an 18-month search conducted by the Academy. The company is internationally recognized for its expertise in election administration and computer security and its voting platform is a global leader in the election industry. Built into its technology and processes are multiple layers of security that include military-grade encryption techniques.

The company’s other clients include the United States Department of Defense; the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice; the state of New South Wales, Australia; and the states of Oregon, Florida, and Washington.

“We are honored to have earned the trust of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in bringing online voting to the Oscars starting next year,” said Lori Steele, Chairman and CEO of Everyone Counts Inc. “Our company was founded to set a new standard of security, accessibility, and transparency in elections. We’re proud to be working with the Academy, an organization that also represents the highest standards in its field.”

“We look forward to working with Everyone Counts for next year’s 85th Academy Awards and beyond,” said Brad Oltmanns, balloting leader, PwC. “We are excited about the new electronic voting system, which will enable us to conduct the tabulation process with the same high level of precision, trust and integrity that we have for the past 78 years.”

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The Academy has announced that this year’s official Oscars App is live and free on the App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, providing fans unparalleled access to the 84th Academy Awards.

Developed by the Academy and Disney/ABC Television Group’s Digital Media Team, the Oscars App is designed to be the ultimate complement to the live telecast, giving fans premier access to the most memorable moments of the night through exclusive live cameras strategically placed on the Red Carpet, throughout the Kodak Theatre, and even in the Governors Ball, which is the official Oscar party of the night. Special cameras include the Thank You Cam — offering winners an extended opportunity to thank their supporters;

Backstage Cam — capturing sound bites, backstage action, short interviews and behind-the-scenes footage; Control Room Cam – allowing users to watch the show’s director in action; and Press Room Cam – featuring moments of winners in the press area.

“Many iPad, iPhone and iPod touch owners use their device daily while watching TV to look for show-related information,” said Karin Gilford, SVP of Digital Media for ABC.com. “Our goal is to utilize the best digital technologies to make sure those fans are having a really full, immersive experience leading up to, during and after the Oscars. We want this to be the next best thing to attending the show itself.”

“We love the level of interaction this app provides our fans,” said Christina Kounelias, chief marketing officer, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “It pulls back the curtain and takes viewers on a backstage experience that is fun and engaging. It allows fans access and vantage points that guests in the theater don’t have.”

The app debuted last year as an integral part of the Oscar Digital Experience, which won an Emmy for Creative Achievement in Interactive Arts. This year, the team has built on that success with a few key enhancements, including:

• A much larger pre-show presence in a new magazine-style format. Fans who download the app between nominations and the live show will have access to original video from last year’s show, photos and – utilizing new iOS 5 Twitter integration – the latest social media buzz.
• All video views are tracked through iCloud so viewers can keep track of what video they’ve watched regardless of the iOS device they are on.
• Access to the hugely popular “Oscar My Picks,” an interactive play-along game that offers fans a chance to test their Oscar prediction skills. Once they fill out their ballot they can share and view their friends picks on Facebook. On Oscar Sunday, users play along during the show and predict category winners ahead of the opening of the envelopes. The app will refresh and calculate your results as categories are won.
• Viewers can watch the live experience in two different modes: Watch or Direct. In Watch mode, the viewer will be guided through the live behind-the-scenes show. In the Direct mode, the viewer can select the cameras they want to use.
• This year’s app will have a live video grid so the viewer can watch all available cameras at once or zero in on one that looks the most interesting to them.
• Once in a camera view, a ticker will display over the video to tell viewers what is happening on other cameras. That way, if a fan’s favorite actor enters another view, they can jump to it quickly and easily.

“Our team really listened to what fans had to say last year, and made a huge effort to build on the things that worked to make them even better,” added Gilford.

The 84rd Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

The Oscars App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

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