Julia Roberts winning an Oscar for 2001's "Erin Brokovich"

Those long awards shows can indeed be boring, unless you’re a nominee. Or, should you be lucky enough to get an invite to its glitzy live event, you are there for the food and the champagne.

So this year, the producers will keep a tight rein on the March 7 Oscars telecast with the strict imposition of their “don’t bore us” rule.

Nominees were reportedly warned during the traditional pre-awards luncheon in Los Angeles to keep their acceptance speeches at a short and sweet 45 seconds.

"Thank-you speeches, which just recite an endless list of names that the public doesn't know, (aren't) just boring – it's the single most hated thing on the show," Oscars show co-producer Bill Mechanic was reported to have told the celebrity guests at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

To stress his point, he was also said to have admitted that being “laundry-listed” in a litany of shout outs did not make him feel good anyway.

But because the producers know that winners deem it important and would certainly want to thank God, their relatives, the entire production team behind their movies and, as they say, their “Facebook friends,” they will make one concession: a “thank you cam” will be installed backstage where celebrities may deliver their unabridged speech similar to how reality TV shows from “American Idol” to “Survivor” deliver the parting shots.

It will be noted that in the past, the Oscars producers even resorted to gimmicks to entice winners to deliver curt speeches. In 2001, they even had a prize for the shortest speech—a high-definition TV, at a time when hi-def was not even a by word among consumers.

This year, the 45-second rule will be “policed much more aggressively,” cutting off lawbreakers with a discreet orchestral music that would build up if they don't stop, if necessary. Mechanic was said to have joked, “Our favorite was a trap door, but we were talked out of it.”

It is assumed that the people behind the Oscars feel that long, boring shows contributed greatly to the decline of viewer ratings over the past years. This year, the producers will also have to figure out how to fit the presentation of 10 nominees for Best Picture, instead of the usual five. It leaked, however, that they were planning to completely remove the customary performances of the five Best Original Song to make more time.

The 82nd Academy Awards will happen on March 7, 2010. To be held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, it will be hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin and will be televised in over 200 countries worldwide.

Memorable Oscars acceptance speeches and other stunning moments:

The longest acceptance speech is still said to be all of five minutes and 30 seconds, delivered by Greer Garson who won the Best Actress plum in 1942 for “Mrs. Miniver.” It even apparently made the Guinness World Records list.

The most number of people thanked in a single acceptance speech was 27, when Olivia de Havilland won her Best Actress award in 1947 for “To Each His Own.”

One of the widely criticized acceptance speech was delivered by James Cameron when, in 1997, he won Best Director for “Titanic.” In what was his second trip to the stage to collect the golden statue that night, he exclaimed, “I’m the king of the world! Wahooooooo!” and lifted his trophy triumphantly. Although a quote from Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in the movie, the act did not sit well with many in the audience. In the face of “Titanic” winning almost every major award it was up for that night, Cameron seemed to have just patted his own back and gloated to the entire filmmaking community.

When Julia Roberts won that year for Best Actress (for “Erin Brokovich”) in 2001, she didn’t really care for the prized High definition TV. She waved the orchestra off as it was cutting her off her speech and exclaimed, “I already have a TV!”

How all Oscars producers would wish winners would deliver their speeches: “I just want to thank everybody I ever met in my entire life”—Kim Basinger, 1998. Short, sweet and all-encompassing.

What not to say out loud in a thank-you speech: “I’m in shock. And I’m so in love with my brother right now…” —Angelina Jolie, when she won Best Supporting Actress for “Girl, Interrupted” in 1999.

How not to accept an Academy award: When Roberto Benigni won Best Actor in 1998 for his role in “Life Is Beautiful” he clambered over rows of seats to get to the stage. Perhaps it was excitement or the fact that he was seated too far off the stage, or both, but the hilarity was heightened with the Italian actor/director/screenwriter said he had used up all his English when he accepted the Best Foreign Film award earlier, and proceeded to let the crowd know he wanted to kiss them all.