Oscars Get Bumped

Posted Friday, July 19, 2002 at 10:25 AM Central

by John Couture

In true movie star fashion, the Academy Awards pushed its weight around this week, and landed a better date. The Oscars have traditionally been handed out in March over the years, but come 2004, they will be handed out in February.

It was confirmed this week that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has reserved the Kodak Theater on February 29, 2004 for the 76th Annual Academy Awards show. The proliferation of movie award shows in the past decade have caused some people to feel that the Oscars had lost their shimmer.

Now, the Oscars will slide into February, barely, thanks to a leap year. It should also help a slumping ABC in the critical February sweeps period - a move that has been drawing its fair share of criticism as well.