Whoever is sworn in as the next president of the U.S. on Jan. 20 won't have to worry about being upstaged by Oscar.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which traditionally announces its nominations on a Tuesday in mid-January, has made one alteration to its schedule for the 81st Annual Academy Awards to avoid a media showdown with the presidential inauguration.

The Academy's key awards dates for 2009, announced Monday, follow the December-February template the Academy has basically followed since moving the Oscar ceremony from March to February in 2004. But the Academy will make one departure from tradition: Instead of announcing nominees Jan. 20, which also happens to be Inauguration Day, the 2009 nominations will be announced two days later on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 5:30 a.m. PST.

From there, the Academy schedule moves into high gear because there will be just one month until the ceremony takes place on Sunday, Feb. 22, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.

The next Oscar cycle kicks off Dec. 1, when credit forms are due. Nomination ballots will be mailed Dec. 26 and are due back by 5 p.m. Jan. 12.

Following the Jan. 22 nominations announcement at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, final ballots will be mailed Jan. 28 and are due back by 5 p.m. Feb. 17.

The annual nominees luncheon is set for Monday, Feb. 2, and the Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards will take place Saturday, Feb. 7.

Inauguration Day uproots Oscar noms

By Gregg Kilday

April 14, 2008,