Oscar countdown gets serious

"The ballot is in the mail" trumps "The check is in the mail" any time, at least when the ballot is coming from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Nomination ballots were sent Tuesday to the 5,810 voting members of the Academy. They must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. Jan. 12. Nominations then will  be announced the morning of Jan. 22, uncharacteristically a Thursday to avoid conflicts with the presidential inauguration earlier that week.

The Academy Awards will be handed out Feb. 22 in Hollywood.