LOS ANGELES, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The 85th Academy Awards gala will take place at the Hollywood & Highland Center, formerly the Kodak Theater, on Feb.24, 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced on Wednesday.
The announcement effectively puts an end to some speculation that the Academy Awards ceremony might move out of the venue in Hollywood as early as next year. It also helped to settle the dust as it was widely expected the academy could move the event earlier in the year.
"The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, and the Oscar telecast will be presented on Sunday, February 24th," the academy said in a press release.
The new date for the announcement of nominations was moved up about a week from this year's Jan. 24th, while the awards telecast was kept on the last Sunday of February as usual.
The academy stopped mentioning the Kodak Theater in its press releases and award-related material before the Feb. 26 event in observance of related regulations concerning the naming right of the location. The 131-year-old Eastman Kodak Co. has forfeited its sponsorship of the venue as it struggles with bankruptcy.
The Kodak Theater has served as the location for the Oscar event since 2002.