The second biggest day for Hollywood is almost upon us. The 2015 Oscar nominations will be announced live on Thursday, Jan. 15 at the crack of 5:30 a.m. PST.
Sunday night's Golden Globes ceremony gave us a pretty good idea of who will be nominated. Boyhood and Birdman will probably get some Oscar love, and I expect Julianne Moore, Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne will snag some noms for their performances this year as well.
For those of us watching at home, it may seem like the Oscar nominations either just fall out of the sky or some omnipotent, amorphous organization determines them. That latter point is close but not exactly.
The Academy Award nominations are determined by the more than 7,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. To become a member of this prestigious organization, you have to be a film artist "working in the production of theatrically-released motion pictures."
If you fall into one of the 17 branches of the Academy, which include everyone from actors to producers to executives, you're eligible to become a member. But before you start filling out your application, you should know that you have to be sponsored by two Academy members from the branch you want to get into for consideration. There's good news for those that have been nominated for an Academy Award. You're automatically considered for membership. The real honor is just to be nominated though.
