Rethink.

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).

Tonight is the Golden Globes. Ricky Gervais is the ringleader for the bacchanalian party that has celebrities eating and, notably, drinking. The evening is an awards show without the required gravitas. It should be a fun evening, especially with host Gervais, the first in 15 years for the show by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. I thought I would take a brief moment to share my predictions (marked in red) for whom I think will be taking home the awards. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments. I've noted in blue possible dark horses and the clears losers — in my mind at least. UPDATED WITH WINNERS: As you can see I was 11 for 19 — 5/9 in the TV categories and 6/10 in the film categories.

As of today, Dec. 15, 2009, we are 10 days away from Christmas and 82 days out from the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. While 82 is not really a momentous milestone number, it seemed appropriate for counting down to next year's ceremony. News has been coming in at a steady pace over the past month from the Academy and instead of individual posts, here is one hardy helping of all the Oscar news you need. We left off last month with the 20 Animated Feature contenders, along with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin being named co-hosts for the telecast. Since then other positions for the telecast have been filled.

A quick Oscar update for you on this Thursday: The Academy announced its shortlist — or rather long list — of films that will vie for the Animated Feature nomination and, on March 7, the Oscar. The 20 submitted features are: • “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” • “Astro Boy” • “Battle for Terra” • “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” • “Coraline” • “Disney's A Christmas Carol” • “The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer” • “Fantastic Mr. Fox” • “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” • “Mary and Max” • “The Missing Lynx” • “Monsters vs. Aliens” • “9” • “Planet 51” • “Ponyo” • “The Princess and the Frog” • “The Secret of Kells” • “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” • “A Town Called Panic” • “Up”

Next year's Oscars has a host! In fact, make that two hosts. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards , Academy President Tom Sherak announced Tuesday. This comes two weeks after Sherak announced Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman producers of the ceremony. (Good things must come on Tuesdays.) “We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said Shankman and Mechanic, quoted in the press release. “ Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event. ”

With less than 150 days out from the 82nd Academy Awards telecast, Academy President Tom Sherak got the ball rolling by naming Bill Mechanic and A dam Shankman producers of the ceremony . This will be the first major Oscar show involvement for both men, Sherak said Tuesday. Mechanic is the chairman and CEO of Pandemonium Films and the former chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Prior to Fox, he served in executive positions at the Walt Disney Company and Paramount. Mechanic’s producer credits include “Coraline” and “Dark Water” (2005). “The last time I was on the show was as a dancer, and to come back as a producer is such an unbelievable honor,” Shankman was quoted in the press release. Shankman’s name may sound familiar to musical and choreography buffs. His directorial credits include “Hairspray” (2007) and other projects he's working on include “Rock of Ages,” “Sinbad,” “Bob: The Musical” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” He also has been a judge on "So You Think You Can ...

So as you're reading this, a host city may have already been selected. But even if that is the case, here are my thoughts and rankings. Choosing the host city Four years ago, on July 6, 2005, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) met in Singapore. My choice — and favorite at the time — Paris lost in the final round to London. Also losing to London: Moscow, New York and Madrid. To determine a host city , once the final four have been decided, a candidate city must win a majority of the votes . According to IOC rules: "If there is no majority in the first round, the city with the fewest votes drops out of the running, and the members vote again for the remaining candidates. If two or more cities are tied for the lowest number of votes, a run-off election is held between them, with the city gaining the most votes going on to the next round." For example, in 2005, London triumphed after four rounds with 54 votes from a possible 104 in the final round. So really, a candid...