Audio Video News

Last week, ABC Internet Group and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launched Oscar.com, the "official website of the Academy Awards." Beginning on February 9, the day Oscar nominees are to be announced, Oscar.com will present a live video stream of the Academy Awards nominations announcement and the full list of nominees, as well as a history of the Academy Awards, photos, and a synopsis of each nominated film.

In addition to announcing the nominees, Oscar.com will also have a retrospective section containing photo galleries of past Oscar winners in a number of categories, including Best Picture, Best Leading Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Costume Design, and Makeup. Other photo galleries will focus on past red-carpet arrivals and a look back at some of the glamorous attire worn to past Oscar ceremonies.

As the Awards ceremony approaches, the site plans to add such features as a complete database of winners and nominees and a producer's journal, giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at preparations. On Oscar night, the site will provide live streaming video of the-red carpet arrivals, pre-show reports, an updated list of winners as they are announced, and transcripts of acceptance speeches. Immediately following the telecast, Oscar.com will post transcripts and exclusive photos from the evening and stream complete backstage interviews---an element not available on television.

"The World Wide Web provides a wonderful new way for movie lovers to find information about all aspects of motion pictures," says Academy President Robert Rehme. "It's only natural that the Oscars should have a place in cyberspace, and Oscar.com is a site that is almost as unique and compelling as the Awards show itself."

The Academy Awards for 1998 will be presented Sunday, March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center of Los Angeles County. Sunday at the Oscars will be televised live by ABC, beginning at 5 pm PST with the Academy's half-hour Oscar Preview Show.