The Academy Awards are this weekend! The Official Red Carpet coverage starts on ABC channels at 7 pm on the East Coast/4 pm on the West Coast, then the Academy Awards show starts at 8 pm EST/5 pm PST. For more information go to Oscar.com.

Here’s info to tune into the myriad pre-shows that dish on designers, celebrities, and movie stars:

• E! Online has red carpet coverage beginning at 6 pm EST/3 pm PST.
• The MTV Movies blog will have live online streaming from 6 pm to 8 pm EST.
• CNN’s Showbiz Tonight will have “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Camille Grammer as a fashion and celebrity commentator; their live coverage is at 7 pm EST, then wrap-up coverage is at 11 pm EST on HLN.
• For the real down-low and what they were wearing, E!’s Fashion Police, with Red Carpet veteran quick-wit Joan Rivers will likely air on Monday… can’t find a specific airdate, but look for it on E!

Here’s a quick link to the complete list of Academy Awards Nominees for your Oscar Pool. If you could cast your vote for the Oscars – how would you go? I pick The Social Network for the Best Picture win. Why? Because it’s the only Oscar-nominated movie to pass my litmus test: my brother saw it!

Get Discounts on Movie Tickets, Concessions, and DVD & Blu-Ray Discs

Getting to see the Oscar-nominated movies might get expensive. Discounted gift cards to theaters, media retailers, and restaurants take the sting out of what could be a pricey proposition. Here are some gift card ideas from Plastic Jungle based on what’s on sale right now (at time of writing) on the site.

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• Straight-up, purchase discounted gift cards to theaters or movie chains. Right now, cinema gift cards and theater gift cards on sale include:
• AMC Theatres Gift Cards |  Cinema De Lux Gift Cards |  Landmark Theatres Gift Cards |  Loew’s Theaters Gift Cards |  Regal Cinema Gift Cards (also good at United Artists Theatres and Edwards Cinemas )
• Choose Fandango Gift Cards for flexibility as to which theater or movie chain you can use them at, and Fandango Gift Cards are sold as eCODEs too so you can potentially use them the same day you buy them. Recipients must have Internet access to redeem Fandango Bucks; to see if you can use them locally, enter your zip code on the Fandango home page.
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• For movies that have left the theaters (or those foreign ones that may have never played near you but critics tell you not to miss), go for a media store gift card. Right now, Plastic Jungle has FYE Gift Cards (and eCODES) |  Hollywood Video Gift Cards |  Barnes & Noble Gift Cards |  Best Buy Gift Cards | Border’s Gift Cards (at a 14% discount, but use it fast!) | iTunes Gift Cards. Consider even Walmart Gift Cards and Target Gift Cards, where you can buy an inexpensive DVD player and watch movies on your lunch breaks!
• Get an Amazon.com Gift Card when you trade in one of your unused gift cards in exchange, here on Plastic Jungle!
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• Post-Movie Discussion: In “The King’s Speech”, didn’t Geoffery Rush just break your heart when the King berated him for having no credentials? How bizarre, on a scale of 1-10, did Natalie Portman seem to you in “The Black Swan”? Was Jesse Eisenberg’s character in “The Social Network” a mean guy, or just another motivated capitalist winning at any cost? The cup of coffee after the movie might be just as important as the movie itself. Get discounts on Starbuck’s Gift Cards | Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Gift Cards | Applebee’s Gift Cards | Cold Stone Creamery Gift Cards | The Cheesecake Factory Gift Cards.
  

  Mark Zuckerberg meets Jesse Eisenberg on Saturday Night Live

View the Video: Samberg, Zuckerberg and Eisenberg on SNL 2/19/11

Enjoy the movie fun this weekend! Let us know how your Oscar Picks came out, and who you thought didn’t win, but deserved it.

It’s Deal Time! As the web’s largest secured gift card exchange, Plastic Jungle gives shoppers choice and flexibility with funds they’ve got trapped on gift cards. If you’d like to sell your gift card, take a look at all the safe and quick options Plastic Jungle offers. See your options when you Sell or Swap gift cards on Plastic Jungle now >>>

Now, let’s take a look at only a few of the key discounted cards for sale on Plastic Jungle (at time of writing — hurry, supplies are limited!):

American Eagle Outfitters – discounts up to 14% off.

FYE — discounts up to 17% off. FYE is a music & movie retailer.

JCPenney – discounts up to 14% off with eCODEs available too – save on purchases today!

Olive Garden – discounts up to 10% off — also good at may also be used at any Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze or any other Darden restaurant.

Starbucks — discounts up to 9% off

AMC Theatres — discounts up to 16% off

Go to a complete listing of discounted gift cards for sale right now on Plastic Jungle >>>

Friday Gift Card Giveaways & Sweepstakes

This week we take you to the savings blogs. Coupon-cutting has entered the modern age and the best way to find elusive deals is to troll the savings blogs. You’ll find one for every segment, from technology geeks to mommies to fashionistas, and I’ll bet every one of us falls into each of those segments at least once a day.

MyBargainBuddy.com – Enter to win a $50 Kohl’s Gift Card. Just submit your info (no Byzantine follows or reports required) and let Karen know whether or not you want her email newsletter on retail bargains up to 90% off. Drawing to take place on 3/1/11; see details on the MyBargainBuddy.com giveaway page.

CouponingFor4.com – Enter to win one of 10 $10 Amazon Gift Certificates. You are eligible to win one of five by leaving a comment on the Giveaway blog post. To be eligible for one of the other five, become a Facebook fan of CouponingFor4.com. See the Giveaway blog post for details; drawing takes place 3/2/11 at about 10 pm CST.

TechBargains.com – Enter to win an iPad. Well, it’s not a gift card or an egift card, but we didn’t think you’d mind winning an iPad with 32GB and WiFi + 3G – a $729 value. To enter, subscribe to the new TechBargains YouTube Channel, or become a fan of TechBargains on Facebook. The last day to enter the contest is 2/28 and the winner will be announced on the site shortly after; for details see TechBargains’ iPad Giveaway contest rules. Be sure to share the giveaway link with your friends because we’re going to ask the winner how they heard about the giveaway and the site. If they name you, then you’ll win a $100 American Express gift card.

PassionforSavings.com – Enter to win a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card. Entering is easy, Just sign up for Free Email Updates or Subscribe to the Passion for Savings RSS Feed. You can also follow on Facebook or Twitter. Each method gets you one entry into the giveaway. The winner will be selected at the end of the month. See giveaway page for details.

WellHeeledBlog.com – Enter to win a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card. This site about personal finance and savvy living is handing out a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card thanks to MrRebates.com. It’s complicated, so visit the Well Heeled Blog giveaway page for details and info on both informative sites. Deadline is Wednesday March 3 at midnight PST.

Won anything yet? Let us know… and let us know: Would you rather enter a big sweepstakes with thousands of entries or little giveaways where your chances are better, but the prizes are smaller?

Have a great weekend — shop away!