When Are The Oscars?: 2012 Academy Awards Start Time, Best Picture Nominees And Fun Facts

We've seen the movies and cast our picks, but as Hollywood's biggest night draws near, there's only one question in mind: Who will take home the Oscar?

Celebrities will walk the red carpet and take their seats on Sunday for the 84th Academy Awards slated to begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on February 26, 2012. The show will be broadcast on ABC, and host Billy Crystal will attempt to entertain the crowd for the first time since 2004.

Viewers eager to see their favorite stars on the red carpet can tune in to ABC at 7 p.m. ET and watch celebrities arrive at the Los Angeles venue. Stations such as TV Guide and E! will also be reporting from the red carpet. For showtimes, check your TV listings here.

If you're not near a television, there's no need to miss out on the Oscars action. Hidden cameras backstage will give viewers access to footage of their favorite actors in the audience, lobby, the winners' walk and more. The footage will be streamed online at Oscars.com.

And this year, nine nominees vie for Best Picture: "The Artist", "The Descendants," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", "The Help", "Hugo", "Midnight In Paris", "Moneyball", "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse."

"The Artist," might be the first silent film to take home an Oscar for Best Picture since the first Academy Awards, the Star observes. "Wings," a World War I film, took home the honor in 1929.

Just ahead of the 84th Academy Awards, however, money problems signaled the end for one Oscars staple.

The Kodak Theatre has been host to the Oscars since 2002, but with recent financial hardships, Eastman Kodak Co. has had to forfeit sponsorship of the venue, the Associated Press reports. The location will be referred to as the “Hollywood & Highland Center" during the show.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1929. The Academy began using sealed envelopes in 1941, after the Los Angeles Times broke embargo and published the names of the winners in its evening edition on the night of the awards in 1940.


Hosting an Oscars watch party? Print out Moviefone's ballot, and start up a friendly competition with friends.

Take a look at some photos from over 80 years of the Oscars.

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