Golden Globes Make a Date for Jan. 15

Two days after the Oscars announce their date, the HFPA opts for a typical mid-January slot

Apparently, this is the week for organizations to announce the dates for their 2012 movie awards shows.

The Academy announced on Tuesday that next year's Oscars will take place on Sunday, February 26, and the British Academy followed suit minutes later by announcing its own awards on February 12.

Also read: Next Year's Oscars Set for Feb. 26

And now the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has chimed in with the news that the 69th annual Golden Globes will take place on Sunday, January 15.

Other key Globes dates: November 4 is the deadline for submission of entry forms; November 9 is the day the Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient will be announced; December 7 is the final day films can be screened for HFPA members; December 15 is when nominations will be announced; and January 11 is the deadline by which all ballots must be returned to Ernst & Young.

(There's no deadline, however, for critics to slam the HFPA for its choices, its professionalism or its history of scandals and lawsuits; it's always open season for that.)

A few other events should now fall into place with the announcement of the Globes' date, because other organizations tend to schedule themselves around Globes weekend, when the stars are all in town.

Look for the Critics Choice Movie Awards and the AFI Awards lunch to claim Friday, January 13, and for the BAFTA/LA Awards Season Tea Party, the Indie Spirit Awards Nominees Brunch and the L.A. Film Critics Awards to all take slots on Saturday, January 14.

In addition, at least a dozen soirees and shindigs will take place around the Globes, making it Hollywood's second-heaviest party week of the year. 

One assumes, however, that Ricky Gervais doesn't need to keep the weekend open.

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