The real keys to the 2011 Oscars are actually "held" by these two men: Brad Oltmanns and Rick Rosas of Price WaterHouseCoopers. They represent a continuation of the 77-year-relationship between The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the giant account firm trusted to count each ballot for each awards category of the most important film awards event of the year.
How do they do it? In the video interview, Brad explained that "Price WaterHouseCoopers mails out the ballots, directly to the voting members of the academy. They're returned in the mail directly to us, And we then go through basically a three-day process of counting every ballot, by hand, each and every ballot, in all 24 categories. We have a small team of PWC professionals who help us. And at the end of the count, Rick and I are the only ones who actually know the results of each of the 24 categories."
If you think about it, that's powerfully valuable amount of information for one to carry around in their heads, considering its on the minds of million. But Brad and Rick don't act as if they're nervous about it. Indeed, they carry themselves with the cool of CIA agents. Brad has done it for seven years; Rick for 10 years. They keep the information for themselves; not even their wives know. "No one knows until it's announced on stage," Rick said.
On Voting Complexities
The Academy uses a preferential voting system, where one can pick more than one film in a category - and in ranking of first choice, second choice, and so on - a system used for Best Picture. But with that, according to Oltmanns, the process used for the awards voting is really not new; it's the same one used for the nominations process. Still, Brad, Rick and PWC take care to make sure Academy members are well-informed of how the process works, and it's well-understood by many.
What They Will Wear On Sunday
Marla Schulman asked what Brad and Rick planned to wear on Oscars Sunday. "Pretty standard: Black tux. White shirt. Black tie. Same as everyone else," Brad said with a chuckle.
A Firm Relationship
In an ever changing Oscars environment, with new media and increased pressure to have better ratings, The Academy is leaning on Price WaterHouseCoopers to be its gatekeeper of voting integrity, and from all reports, the firm's doing an excellent job.
I still think it's incredible that Brad and Rick can keep that info to themselves without busting open, though!
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