Oscar Ripple Effect Comes in a Wave

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/08/2002 at 01:00 PM EDT

As expected, a ripple effect is taking shape over the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to move up 2004's Oscar night to February 29 instead of a date in late March, as has long been the tradition. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the Screen Actors Guild Awards has moved its 10th annual ceremonies up a month, from March to Feb. 8, 2004. The SAG ceremony will be held at L.A.'s Shrine Exposition Center (formerly a home for the Oscars) and will be televised for the seventh consecutive year by TNT. (TNT, like PEOPLE, is part of AOL Time Warner.) "We looked carefully at the projected awards schedule for 2004, and in concert with our network, TNT, we have adjusted our dates to fit the new awards season," SAG awards committee chairman Yale Summers told the trade paper. The 2003 SAG ceremonies will take place March 9. In other races, the Directors Guild of America has claimed Feb. 7, 2004, for its annual banquet, and now the British Academy of Film and Television Arts has its sights set on Feb. 8, meaning it will likely be competing with both the DGA and SAG to attract stars and filmmakers. But, notes USA Today, the Golden Globes, traditionally airing the third Sunday of January, probably isn't going to budge. "We haven't announced the 2004 date, but this won't have a big impact on the Golden Globes," spokesman Michael Russell told the paper, noting that other organizations were forced to alter their dates or else risk taking place after the Oscars, still considered the granddaddy of all awards shows.