Now that the 2016 Academy Awards have been announced we want to let you know all about the Oscars. Every year, the entertainment community and film fans around the world focus on the Academy Awards. Most people agree that the Academy Awards are the biggest film awards in the world. In February millions of movie fans tune in to watch the most lavish show of the year and learn who will receive the highest credits in the film industry.
The popularity of the Academy Awards has increased immensely throughout the years. Looking back in time, we see that the awards were an invention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, formed in 1927. The Academy was a made up of 36 most prominent individuals in the motion picture industry, but now there is more than 6,000 members. The members are the ones who vote for the Oscars; those who win an Oscar are automatically asked to be a member of the Academy. With time, the number of categories have increased quite a lot and new segment have been added. Many categories that were once part of the Oscars have been removed and new ones have been introduced. Presently, the Academy Awards ceremony has 24 categories, in which winners are announced.
The first Academy Awards ceremony was organised on May 16th, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. It was a very private ceremony; only two hundred seventy people were guests. Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was chosen as the first president of the Academy. The first ceremony comprised 12 categories and two special honours. The names of the winners came as no surprise as these were declared three months in advance. Since the beginning the Oscar ceremonies have been publicly broadcasted. Until the year 1953 the ceremony was broadcasted on the radio and thereafter the ceremony was broadcasted on television. It was only in 1966 that the ceremony was broadcasted in colour. This made is possible for the viewers at home to experience the glamour of the event. Today the Oscars are broadcasted internationally reaching millions of viewers.
In the early years the name of the winners were announced the night before the ceremony. This was done to allow newspapers to have the winners listed in the late-night editions that would go out on the night of the Oscars after the winners had been declared. However, the early notification to newspapers was stopped when Los Angeles Times announced the winners before the beginning of the ceremony. Since then a sealed envelope has been used to reveal the name of the winner.
An Oscar Award is the most prestigious award that an actor can win. Winning an Oscar can really help a film’s success or an actor’s career take off. Although this might not always be the case winning might also result in a salary bump.
The following are some fun facts about the Oscars:
- Shirley Temple was the youngest person ever to receive an Oscar Award in 1934.
- In the early years the Academy gave child winners miniature Oscars.
- Walt Disney has won more Oscars than anyone else, 26 in total.
- The name ‘Oscar’ was given by Margaret Herrick, the Academy librarian. She commented that the statue resembled her Uncle Oscar.
- Greer Garson holds the record of delivering the longest acceptance speech.
- Meryl Streep holds the record for the most number of Oscar nominations; she was nominated 13 times.
- George Burns was the oldest actor to receive an Oscar.
- The actress with the most Oscars is Katharine Hepburn; she won 4 Best Actress Oscars.
- The most Oscars ever won by a single film is 11 and this occurred 3times with Ben Hur, Titanic and Lord of the Rings.