Rethink.

To put a smile on your face, we thought we'd share this clip from last week's "Saturday Night Live," where Academy President Tom Sherak got his own impersonator — not bad either. I enjoy the faux "Access Hollywood" coverage. Enjoy. Video link: NBC.com

To start your weekend off right, I found an interesting read from USA Today's Anthony Breznican. The lucky reporter got permission from the Academy to chronicle the events leading up to Tuesday's announcement of the 82nd Academy Awards nominations . (Thus, he knew some of the nominees before the rest of world found out. Awesome!) Once inside the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' headquarters late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, depending on the staff member, there was no leaving and absolutely no communication with the outside world . Cellphones and smartphones were confiscated. No Internet access. Guards at the doors. From 8:58 p.m. Monday up to the announcement at 5:38 a.m. Tuesday, the lucky few prepare to tell the world how the Academy members have voted. "The accountants have the solemnity of undertakers, but the workers rip open the lids and pull out pages like overeager kids on Christmas morning ," Breznican writes. Find the article here...

Thought I would share a video from Megan Telles' coverage of Tuesday's nominations announcement . You might remember her name from last year when she was a finalist for the Academy's mtvU Correspondent contest. Rethink. ranked her No. 2 among the list of 10 talented pairs of undergrads vying for a spot on the red carpet. Telles' partner in crime, Andrew Huse , is again working the camera (Sony EX1, Canon 7D + 400mm f/2.8L IS USM) as the Palestra.net correspondent covers the announcement and interviews "Entertainment Tonight" film guru Leonard Maltin, Academy President Tom Sherak, Parade Magazine reporter Jeanne Wolf and telecast producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic.

This morning Anne Hathaway joined Academy President Tom Sherak in announcing the 82nd Annual Academy Awards nominations in 10 of the 24 categories. "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" were the two movies running the show. Both lead the race with nine nominations, but not by a landslide. " Avatar " was nominated for Best Picture, Cinematography, Art Direction, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score) Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects. " The Hurt Locker " was nominated in the following categories: Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Writing (Original Screenplay). " Inglourious Basterds " was next in line with eight nominations in these categories: Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role, Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Writing (Original Screenplay). " Up in the Air ...

What films are going to be nominated for Best Picture? Will "Avatar" live up to director James Cameron's "Titanic" reputation? What films will be nominated in the Foreign Language category? James answers those questions in his first video update: Link to video: http://www.vimeo.com/9130079 What do you think of James' prognostications? Comment on this post and begin the debate! Rethink. will have full coverage of the nominations announcement Tuesday morning. Watch it LIVE here (or below in the embedded video) at 8:35 a.m. ET / 5:35 a.m. PT.

Today is another mile marker on the road to Oscar Sunday®: nomination ballots are due . The 5,777 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences must return their completed Oscar nomination ballots to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) no later than 5 p.m. PT today, January 23. Ballots received after that deadline will not be counted. Prior to mailing the ballots on Monday, Dec. 28, 2009, the PwC staff made sure no duplicate ballots were sent and that none were missing. Each ballot is numbered to guarantee it is addressed to the appropriate Academy voter. PwC will tabulate the ballots using the preferential voting system (as you can see if the main photo).

Outgoing Academy President Sid Ganis made a surprise announcement Wednesday morning in Beverly Hills, Calif. As most media outlets reported, the number of nominees for the Best Picture category will be doubled to 10 at the 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010. At the beginning of the press conference, Ganis said, "This morning's event is about the Academy Awards, but it may not be exactly what you think it is. “We'll be casting our net wider and in casting that net wider who knows what will turn up,” he said, adding that a documentary, animated or foreign language film could be included in the larger field. "And what do you know, maybe even a comedy in that group of 10," Ganis added sardonically. The reason for the change is somewhat retrospective and retroactive. For nine years there were 10 nominees; the 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. In 1931/32, the...

With 37 days left until the 81st Annual Academy Awards®, here are some bullet points to start your weekend off on the right note: OSCAR.com launched this afternoon , much to my excitement. While there is nothing really on the site right now but an intro video, much more content will be posted when... Nominations are announced this Thursday , Jan. 22 at 5:35 a.m. PST (note the time zone and adjust accordingly) from the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater most likely by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and an Oscar winner (such as Kathy Bates last year). Normally, the Academy would announce in advance who will reveal the nominations, but it could just surprise us - in keeping with this year's hush-hush atmosphere in not announcing ceremony presenters . The British Academy Film Awards nominations were announced Thursday morning in London. Best Film nominees: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," ...