A few minutes after the Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday morning, a quieter selection process took place out of the public eye.
It was a lottery attended by publicists representing the studios who had films that were nominated – and at stake were the prime screening times for the Academy's members screenings of all the films in contention.
The screenings, which start on Saturday morning with "Dogtooth" and continue until "I Am Love" screens on Sunday, February 20, allow AMPAS voters to see everything that’s been nominated – including, crucially, the shorts, documentaries and foreign-language films that can otherwise be hard to see.
Each film screens twice, once at the 1,000-seat Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills and once at the smaller Linwood Dunn in Hollywood; shorts and documentaries screen four times, foreign films five times.
When the studio reps slotted their films into the schedule, the result is a lineup of strange bedfellows and double bills that go straight from Death Eaters to Australian gangsters, bank robbers to country singers.
The oddest pairing might be on February 4 at the Dunn, where the tense marital drama about the loss of a child, "Rabbit Hole" (nominated for Best Actress) will be followed by the Angelina Jolie shoot-'em-up "Salt" (Best Sound Mixing).
I also wonder: will any Academy members want to see "The King's Speech" and "Unstoppable" in one sitting (February 8), or "Winter's Bone" followed by "Tron: Legacy" (February 15)?
On the other hand, "Inside Job" and "The Social Network" could make for a trenchant look at our times on February 10, while "The Kids Are All Right" back-to-back with "Blue Valentine" will delve into the modern relationship with penetrating wit and feeling the following night.
Of course, members can pick and choose whatever they want; don't have to stay for both sides of a double bill if, for instance, they're eager to see "The Fighter" but not so crazy about "The Wolfman" (February 4).
The Academy also makes it easy in the Foreign-Language Film and Documentary Feature categories, where members have to see all five nominees in order to vote. Screenings in those categories are almost always scheduled in groups of at least two – and on the weekend of February 11-13, conscientious voters could see all five foreign nominees at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
On Saturday the 12th, for instance, a particularly intrepid voter could see "In a Better World" at 10 a.m., "Incendies" at noon and "Biutiful" at 2:30, for a remarkable half day of viewing. Then, after a four-hour break for dinner and recuperation, the member could return for "Dogtooth" and "Outside the Law." It's probably way too grueling a day, but it's possible.
Here's the full schedule, with each film starting exactly 10 minutes after the previous one ends. All screenings are restricted to Academy members only.
Saturday, January 29
LINWOOD DUNN THEATER
10:00 DOGTOOTH
11:47 OUTSIDE THE LAW (HORS-LA-LOI)
2:30 ALICE IN WONDERLAND
4:29 THE WAY BACK
SAMUEL GOLDWYN THEATER
7:00 ANOTHER YEAR
9:19 I AM LOVE
Sunday, January 30
DUNN
10:00 IN A BETTER WORLD
12:08 INCENDIES
2:30 WINTER'S BONE
4:20 TOY STORY 3 (3D)
7:00 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
8:37 GASLAND
GOLDWYN
7:00 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1
9:36 ANIMAL KINGDOM
Monday, January 31
DUNN
10:00 BIUTIFUL
2:00 HEREAFTER
7:00 RESTREPO
8:43 WASTE LAND
GOLDWYN
7:00 ALICE IN WONDERLAND (3D)
8:59 IRON MAN 2
Tuesday, February 1
DUNN
2:00 BARNEY'S VERSION
4:19 THE TEMPEST
GOLDWYN
7:00 THE TOWN
9:15 COUNTRY STRONG
Wednesday, February 2
DUNN
2:00 TRON: LEGACY (3D)
4:15 THE ILLUSIONIST
7:00 INSIDE JOB
GOLDWYN
7:00 TRUE GRIT
9:00 HEREAFTER
Thursday, February 3
DUNN
2:00 ANIMAL KINGDOM
4:02 COUNTRY STRONG
7:00 DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
GOLDWYN
7:00 THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
8:56 BLUE VALENTINE
Friday, February 4
DUNN
2:00 RABBIT HOLE
3:42 SALT
GOLDWYN
7:00 THE FIGHTER
9:06 THE WOLFMAN
Saturday, February 5
DUNN
2:00 THE SOCIAL NETWORK
4:11 INCEPTION
GOLDWYN
2:30 ANIMATED SHORTS
3:49 LIVE ACTION SHORTS
7:00 DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Sunday, February 6
DUNN
2:00 GASLAND
3:57 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
GOLDWYN
7:00 TANGLED (3D)
8:50 THE TEMPEST
Monday, February 7
DUNN
2:00 ANOTHER YEAR
4:19 THE TOWN
7:00 ANIMATED SHORTS
8:19 LIVE ACTION SHORTS
GOLDWYN
7:00 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
8:37 GASLAND
Tuesday, February 8
DUNN
2:00 WASTE LAND
3:48 RESTREPO
7:00 OUTSIDE THE LAW (HORS-LA-LOI)
9:28 DOGTOOTH
GOLDWYN
7:00 THE KING'S SPEECH
9:08 UNSTOPPABLE
Wednesday, February 9
DUNN
2:00 INSIDE JOB
3:58 127 HOURS
7:00 INCENDIES
9:21 IN A BETTER WORLD
GOLDWYN
7:00 RESTREPO
8:43 WASTE LAND
Thursday, February 10
DUNN
2:00 BLACK SWAN
3:53 THE WOLFMAN
7:00 BIUTIFUL
GOLDWYN
7:00 INSIDE JOB
8:58 THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Friday, February 11
DUNN
2:00 THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
3:56 BLUE VALENTINE
GOLDWYN
7:00 DOGTOOTH
8:47 OUTSIDE THE LAW (HORS-LA-LOI)
Saturday, February 12
DUNN
10:00 LIVE ACTION SHORTS
11:54 ANIMATED SHORTS
2:00 DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
5:26 TANGLED (3D)
GOLDWYN
10:00 IN A BETTER WORLD
12:08 INCENDIES
2:29 BIUTIFUL
7:00 DOGTOOTH
8:47 OUTSIDE THE LAW (HORS-LA-LOI)
Sunday, February 13
DUNN
2:00 THE FIGHTER
4:06 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (3D)
GOLDWYN
10:00 IN A BETTER WORLD
12:08 INCENDIES
2:29 BIUTIFUL
7:00 TOY STORY 3 (3D)
8:53 BARNEY'S VERSION
Monday, February 14
DUNN
2:00 HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1
4:36 IRON MAN 2
GOLDWYN
7:00 INCEPTION
9:38 THE ILLUSIONIST
Tuesday, February 15
DUNN
10:00 GASLAND
11:57 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
2:00 OUTSIDE THE LAW (HORS-LA-LOI)
4:28 DOGTOOTH
GOLDWYN
7:00 WINTER'S BONE
8:50 TRON: LEGACY (3D)
Wednesday, February 16
DUNN
10:00 WASTE LAND
11:48 RESTREPO
2:00 INCENDIES
4:21 IN A BETTER WORLD
GOLDWYN
7:00 BLACK SWAN
8:53 SALT
Thursday, February 17
DUNN
10:00 INSIDE JOB
2:00 BIUTIFUL
4:38 UNSTOPPABLE
GOLDWYN
7:00 127 HOURS
8:44 RABBIT HOLE
Friday, February 18
DUNN
10:00 DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
2:00 LIVE ACTION SHORTS
3:54 ANIMATED SHORTS
GOLDWYN
7:00 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (3D)
8:48 THE WAY BACK
Saturday, February 19
DUNN
2:00 THE KING'S SPEECH
4:08 TRUE GRIT
Sunday, February 20
DUNN
2:00 I AM LOVE
