Nominations Ballots Mailed Today for 75th Academy Awards

Beverly Hills, CA - Nomination ballots for the 75th Academy Awards were mailed 
this week to the 5,816 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts 
and Sciences.

Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m., 
Wednesday, January 29.  Any ballot received after this deadline is ineligible.

All nomination and final award ballots are tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers 
under the direction of partners Greg Garrison and Rick Rosas, who ensure that 
all aspects of the balloting process are conducted with fairness and accuracy.  
Both were present at the Academy to supervise the mailing. Beverly Hills 
Postmaster Patrick McCloskey also was on hand to oversee transportation of the
ballots from the Academy to the post office.  "The Postal Service is honored 
each year to be a part of the Academy Awards process and will do what it takes 
to make sure that the ballots are delivered safely and without delay," said 
McCloskey.  "PricewaterhouseCoopers has been tabulating the Oscar ballots 
since 1936," said Garrison, head of Assurance and Business Advisory Services 
for PricewaterhouseCoopers.  "We take the balloting seriously, so we review 
our procedures every year to maintain the integrity and high standards that 
the Academy expects."

Prior to mailing, the PricewaterhouseCoopers staff administers a thorough 
verification process to make sure there are no duplicate ballots and that none 
are missing.  In addition to being counted and sorted, each ballot is numbered 
to guarantee that it goes to the correct Academy voter.

Garrison and Rosas have been with PricewaterhouseCoopers for 27 years and six 
years, respectively.  This marks Garrison's eighth year and Rosas' second 
overseeing the balloting process.

The 75th Academy Award nominations will be announced at the Academy's Samuel 
Goldwyn Theater on Tuesday, February 11, at 5:30 a.m. PST.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2002 will be presented on 
Sunday, March 23, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland and televised 
live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST.  A half-hour 
arrival segment will precede the presentation ceremony at 5 p.m.

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