Best Visual Effects Oscar short list of 15 films announced

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has selected their short list of 15 contenders for nominations for the Visual Effects Oscar at the 83rd annual Academy Awards. The list contains all the usual effects-heavy suspects for this category and the dramas Shutter Island and Hereafter thrown in for good measure. 5 of the 15 selections are or were converted into 3D format.

The members of the Academy's visual effects branch executive committee, who were responsible for selecting the semifinalists, will narrow the list further to seven in early January. On January 20, 2011 the effects teams screen 15-minute show-reels of the seven remaining films to demonstrate how they created their effects. Then the members of the Academy's visual effects branch executive committee will hold a vote on the final five nominations for the Oscars.

The Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT. The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony takes place on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

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Complete list of films short-listed for the Best Visual Effects Academy Award nominations

Alice in Wonderland
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 
Clash of the Titans 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 
Hereafter 
Inception 
Iron Man 2 
The Last Airbender 
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief 
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 
Scott Pilgrim vs the World 
Shutter Island 
The Sorcerer's Apprentice 
Tron: Legacy 
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