The Oscars is one of the biggest Arts and Cultural events in the world. It celebrates cinema and all the talents put together to make great and amazing movies. Every year by the end of February, the Academy awards organize a special evening with a show filled with emotions, laughs and tears. Basically welcome to the film movie industry. Here are some facts you probably did not know about the Oscars and below, the complete list of nominees and winners.
The Oscars statuette, 2’947 is the number.
The Oscars statuette is probably one of the most recognizable awards in the world. According to the Academy Awards, until this year, 2’947 statuettes were presented during the 87 ceremonies hold so far. This year 24 new statuettes will find a legitimate and talented new owner. The first time the golden knight personnification was given to someone was in the initial awards banquet on May 16th 1929. Emil Jannings was named Best Actor for his amazing performance in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh“.
The Statuette was originally designed by MGM Art Director Cedric Gibbons. It is supposed to represent a Gold knight holding a sword and standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. Although the statuette remains true to its original design, the size of the base varied until 1945, when the current standard was adopted. During the years, the statuette got some revamps and this year, for the 88th edition, it will have another makeover. The statuettes, which had been manufactured by Chicago company R.S. Owens since 1982, will now be made by Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry in Rock Tavern, New York, known for its collaborations with artists and architects like Louise Bourgeois. As part of the switch, the statuette is going back to its roots with a design that incorporates details from George Stanley’s original creation.
Since 1950, the statuettes have been legally encumbered by the requirement that neither winners nor their heirs may sell the statuettes without first offering to sell them back to the Academy for US$1. If a winner refuses to agree to this stipulation, then the Academy keeps the statuette. Academy Awards not protected by this agreement have been sold in public auctions and private deals for six-figure sums. In December 2011, Orson Welles’ 1941 Oscar for Citizen Kane (Best Original Screenplay) was put up for auction, after his heirs won a 2004 court decision contending that Welles did not sign any agreement to return the statue to the Academy. On December 20, 2011, it sold in an online auction for US$861,542.
Who is voting for the Oscars? I am not!
In order to vote for the Best Motion Picture or Best Director, you need to be part of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This membership will give you the rights to vote. In the first edition of the ceremony, only 230 voters participated in the awards allocation. Today they are 6’291 active members with voting rights. Can anyone be member of the Academy? Not exactly. To get into the Academy, first of all, you have to work in film production, according to the organization’s membership rules. So no press allowed, which makes the Academy Awards distinct from many annual-awards groups. A candidate has to be sponsored by two current members of the organization’s branch, which they hope to join. The Academy has 17 branches ranging from acting, directing, and writing to producers and executives. The largest segment of members is made up of actors, giving them an outsize influence on what ultimately wins. Here are the conditions to join the Academy if you are an Actor:
From Academy Bylaws:
Article III, Section 1. Membership shall be by invitation of the Board of Governors. Invitations to active membership shall be limited to those persons active in the motion picture arts and sciences, or credited with screen achievements, or who have otherwise achieved distinction in the motion picture arts and sciences and who, in the opinion of the Board, are qualified for membership.
To be considered for invitation to membership in the Actors Branch of the Academy, an individual must:
(a) have a minimum of three theatrical feature film credits, in all of which the roles played were scripted roles, one of which was released in the past five years, and all of which are of a caliber that reflect the high standards of the Academy,
and/or
(b) have been nominated for an Academy Award in one of the acting categories,
or
(c) have, in the judgment of the Actors Branch Executive Committee, otherwise achieved unique distinction, earned special merit or made an outstanding contribution as a motion picture actor.
As we can see, it is an extremely thoughtful process to become a member. The Academy awards wishes to maintain a certain level of quality and also an independent status. According to a study published at the end of 2013 by the Los Angeles Times, these movie industry representatives are on average 62 years old, 77% are men and 93% are white. These stats do nothing to help the current debate about the lack of diversity at the Oscars. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was a big buzz and many well-known actors and directors like Will Smith or Spike Lee took position against this lack of diversity. Nevertheless, the 88th Oscars will take place this year and hopefully amazing artists will be rewarded.
A few amazing statistics that will blow your mind
The Oscars is a tremendous event, probably one of the most universal ones, together with the Olympic games. There are 255 countries live broadcasting the Oscars, no matter is the local time is in the morning, the afternoon or the middle of the night. The first TV broadcasted show was the 25th ceremony back in 1953. Here are some interesting statistics around the Oscars:
- Total years ABC has broadcasted the awards: 51
- Seating capacity at the Dolby Theatre: 3,300
- Longest Oscar telecast: 74th Oscars in 2002 at 4 hours, 23 minutes
- Shortest Oscar telecast: 31st Oscars in 1959 at 1 hour, 40 minutes
- American viewers last year: 37.3 million
- Estimated global viewership: Several hundred million
- Number of countries that submitted a feature film for the best foreign language film award: 81
- The total number of Oscar nominations for musician John Williams, the record for a living person: 50
The 88th Oscars ceremony: The nominees.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE NOMINEES
BRYAN CRANSTON
Trumbo
MATT DAMON
The Martian
LEONARDO DICAPRIO – WINNER
The Revenant
MICHAEL FASSBENDER
Steve Jobs
EDDIE REDMAYNE
The Danish Girl
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE NOMINEES
CHRISTIAN BALE
The Big Short
TOM HARDY
The Revenant
MARK RUFFALO
Spotlight
MARK RYLANCE – WINNER
Bridge of Spies
SYLVESTER STALLONE
Creed
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE NOMINEES
CATE BLANCHETT
Carol
BRIE LARSON – WINNER
Room
JENNIFER LAWRENCE
Joy
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING
45 Years
SAOIRSE RONAN
Brooklyn
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE NOMINEES
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH
The Hateful Eight
ROONEY MARA
Carol
RACHEL MADAMS
Spotlight
ALICIA VIKANDER – WINNER
The Danish Girl
KATE WINSLET
Steve Jobs
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
ANOMALISA
Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and Rosa Tran
BOY AND THE WORLD
Alê Abreu
INSIDE OUT – WINNER
Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE
Mark Burton and Richard Starzak
WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE
Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura
BEST PICTURE
THE BIG SHORT
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
BRIDGE OF SPIES
Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
BROOKLYN
Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers
THE MARTIAN
Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer and Mark Huffam, Producers
THE REVENANT
Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers
ROOM
Ed Guiney, Producer
SPOTLIGHT – WINNER
Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers
CINEMATOGRAPHY NOMINEES
CAROL
Ed Lachman
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Robert Richardson
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
John Seale
THE REVENANT – WINNER
Emmanuel Lubezki
SICARIO
Roger Deakins
COSTUME DESIGN
CAROL
Sandy Powell
CINDERELLA
Sandy Powell
THE DANISH GIRL
Paco Delgado
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – WINNER
Jenny Beavan
THE REVENANT
Jacqueline West
DIRECTING
THE BIG SHORT
Adam McKay
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
George Miller
THE REVENANT – WINNER
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
ROOM
Lenny Abrahamsson
SPOTLIGHT
Tom McCarthy
FILM EDITING
THE BIG SHORT
Hank Corwin
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – WINNER
Margaret Sixel
THE REVENANT
Stephen Mirions
SPOTLIGHT
Tom McArdle
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM NOMINEES
EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT
Colombia
MUSTANG
France
SON OF SAUL – WINNER
Hungary
THEEB
Jordan
A WAR
Denmark
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING NOMINEES
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – WINNER
Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED
Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
THE REVENANT
Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini
PRODUCTION DESIGN
BRIDGE OF SPIES
Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
THE DANISH GIRL
Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – WINNER
Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
THE MARTIAN
Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
THE REVENANT
Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy
SOUND EDITING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – WINNER
Mark Mangini and David White
THE MARTIAN
Oliver Tarney
THE REVENANT
Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender
SICARIO
Alan Robert Murray
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Matthew Wood and David Acord
SOUND MIXING
BRIDGE OF SPIES
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – WINNER
Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
THE MARTIAN
Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth
THE REVENANT
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
VISUAL EFFECTS
EX MACHINA – WINNER
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
THE MARTIAN
Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
THE REVENANT
Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
BRIDGE OF SPIES
Thomas Newman
CAROL
Carter Burrell
THE HATEFUL EIGHT – WINNER
Ennio Morricone
SICARIO
Jóhann Jóhannsson
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
John Williams
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
BRIDGE OF SPIES
Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
EX MACHINA
Written by Alex Garland
INSIDE OUT
Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
SPOTLIGHT – WINNER
Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
BODY TEAM 12
David Darg and Bryn Mooser
CHAU, BEYOND THE LINES
Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck
CLAUDE LANZMANN: SPECTRES OF THE SHOAH
Adam Benzine
A GIRL IN THE RIVER: THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS – WINNER
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
LAST DAY OF FREEDOM
Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
AMY – WINNER
Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
CARTEL LAND
Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellen
THE LOOK OF SILENCE
Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
Liz Garbus, Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes
WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
BEAR STORY – WINNER
Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
PROLOGUE
Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton
SANJAY’S SUPER TEAM
Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle
WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS
Konstantin Bronzit
WORLD OF TOMORROW
Don Hertzfeld
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
AVE MARIA
Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont
DAY ONE
Henry Hughes
EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY (ALLES WIRD GUT)
Patrick Vollrath
SHOK
Jamie Donoghue
STUTTERER – WINNER
Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
“Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey; Music and Lyric by The Weeknd, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville and Stephan Moccia
RACING EXTINCTION
“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction; Music by J. Ralph, Lyric by Anohni
YOUTH
“Simple Song #3” from Youth; Music and Lyric by David Lang
THE HUNTING GROUND
“Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
SPECTRE – WINNER
“Writing’s On The Wall” from Spectre; Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
THE BIG SHORT – WINNER
Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
BROOKLYN
Screenplay by Nick Hornby
CAROL
Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy
THE MARTIAN
Screenplay by Drew Goddard
ROOM
Screenplay by Emma Donoghue
This Sunday, the 88th Oscars ceremony rewarded the best movie professionals that have made our lives sparkling. Movies like The Revenant or Mad Max Fury Road nailed it.
Info sourced at the Oscars official website, hollywoodreporter.com, star2.com, wikipedia, Vanity Fair, Forbes, ABC.com. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.