The Academy Award season always comes a few fair months before the awards, well in time to include the holiday season. As prospective nominees and art-house appreciated films are released just in time to make the eligibility dates, the seasonal interest is further kept alive by a plethora of other awards being announced, including the Golden Globes.

But, in Hollywood, nothing shines like uncle Oscar, and the Academy keeps dropping titbits of Award nominations for the hungry masses.

Currently, it has announced the seven films being considered for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 77th Academy Awards.

In alphabetical order, the films are:
The Aviator
The Day After Tomorrow
Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban
I, Robot
Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Sky Captain And The World of Tomorrow
Spider-Man 2

The Visual Effects Award Nominating Committee will watch 15-minute clips from each of the seven films on January 19, before finally nominating three for Oscar consideration.

The finalists, along with nominations in the hotly contested 23 other categories, will be announced on Tuesday, January 25. The Academy Awards for 2004 will be presented a month later on Sunday, February 27, at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.