The Academy Awards ceremonial has been hold since 1929 , with the ceremony diffuse via radio for the first time in 1930 . In 1953 , the issue was first televised and has been ever since . As the oldest of the major one-year amusement awards in America , the Academy Awards are a Brobdingnagian production . It ’s not just about the honor of being constitute — take in an Academy Award can be career - changing .
You might think you know everything there is to know about the Oscars , but as you gear up for the2024 Academy Awards , here are lesser - jazz interesting facts about its origins , retiring , and how things run behind the scene that you ’ll find fascinating .
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PricewaterhouseCoopers handles envelopes because of a broken embargo
It seems antiquated that a big awards ceremonial would rely on newspaper envelopes to discover winners . You might think this is because of the exhilaration when the presenter cracks start the seal to read the name . This might be part of it , but that ’s not altogether the grounds . agree toTime , the understanding PricewaterhouseCoopers ( PwC ) began distribute the results through paper envelope was because of a rugged embargo . Back in 1941 , a news outlet reportedly published the name of all the Oscar winners prior to the ceremony happening . Naturally , this deflower the surprisal for both the audience , as well as the nominees . Everyone establish out in the most anticlimactic way who win ( or lost ) .
It ’s deserving noting as well that Price Waterhouse , as it was known at the meter , was hired by the Academy a few years prior to manage the vote numeration as well . This was to address any accusation of foetid looseness by internal Academy vote counters that were mainly fueled by controversy around Bette Davis not being nominated for her performance inOf Human Bondagein 1935 .
Winners can’t sell their Oscar statues
Even after get ahead an Academy Award , the Oscar statue technically is n’t the succeeder ’s property to do with as they please . Before take it home , they have to ratify a contract agreeing they will not sell or otherwise get disembarrass of it . The only option is to offer to trade it back to the Academy for $ 1 , according toCNBC . This principle also extends to the winners ’ home and estate of the realm once the person dies . The precondition , in place since 1951 , is meant to “ preserve the wholeness of the Oscar symbol . ”
Anyone hoping to get hold a sign on Academy Award on eBay to buy as memorabilia should know that it ’s extremely unconvincing you ’ll ever come across an reliable one . Most winners would never want to part with it anyway , pass on that the statue is a mansion of vocation prestige . Earning an Academy Award raises your Malcolm stock and opens the doorway to bigger projects and potentially gamey pay . Plus , it looks bang-up on a mantle .
One actordidmanage to sell his Oscar
Thereisone histrion who sold his Oscar statue . That ’s because Harold Russell won for Best Supporting Actor forThe Best Years of Our Livesback in 1947 , prior to the specification being in lieu . He sell the award 45 years afterwards when he needed money for his wife ’s mounting aesculapian expenses , concord toThe New York Times .
Interestingly , he was also the first nonprofessional actor to advance an Academy Award for acting . As a World War II veteran who lost both his hands , he was cast in this role because it mirrored his material - life account in many ways . He is also the only person to ever win two Oscars for the same performance since he also won a special honorary Oscar for that role for “ bringing assist and comfort to handicapped old-timer through the medium of motion painting . ”
The 2000 Oscars was the most chaotic ceremony ever
Everyone was so concerned about the supposed Y2 K reset when the calendar flip from 1999 to 2000 , but nothing happened . even so , it seems the Academy Awards ceremony that year was cursed . A aggregate of 55 statues were stolen from a lading dock prior to the ceremonies demand spot . The factory that makes them worked around the clock to make another great deal and have them ship in sentence . The missing statues were later recovered near a garbage binful . The junk scavenger who establish them was awarded $ 50,000 and two seats to attend the event . Two of the statues , however , are still missing to this daylight . As if that was n’t enough , grand of voting ballots were also lost in the chain armour .
Although the incident was dub “ the Infamous 2000 Oscar Heist ” byThe Hollywood Reporter , the Academy later say that the statue are always made a year in advance , so the stolen statues would not have impacted the ceremonies since those single were meant for the following year . But the Academy also makes sure to have extras on manus in case of a deficit . It also confirmed that the recovered statue were destroy so every Oscar winner get a freshly made one . After this debacle , every shipment of Oscar statues is now sent by plane , accompanied by armed guards .
The 2017 Best Picture mix-up happened because of a distracted accountant
think of when Faye Dunaway readLa La Landas the Best Picture winner at the 2017 event whenMoonlight , in fact , was the winner ? Her co - presenter Warren Beatty swore up and down that he was given the wrong gasbag . He was correct , and the reason this premix - up happened was because the man who was presuppose to reach the correct gasbag to Beatty was apparently unhinge by his phone .
Varietyobtained behind - the - scene footage of Brian Cullinan , the accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers , showing him focused on his earphone at the same time the envelopes were say to be handed out . He post a tweet about Emma Stone advance Best Actress around the same time Beatty and Faye Dunaway walk on the level . That tweet was purportedly later deleted .
Interestingly , this was n’t the first time this type of mix - up pass off , though the first metre had nothing to do with smartphone distraction . Sammy Davis Jr. was also given the wrong envelope back in 1964 , but the someone he named as the success had n’t even been nominated , so the mistake was swiftly discovered and correct .
Rolling out the red carpet
The reddish carpet defines the Academy Awards . It ’s the one all the actors , producers , directors , and others walk along to get into the construction . Of course , they first turn back to take glamorous photos and do interviews with the awaiting media as television camera show off . That reddish carpet is a pregnant part of the observance , and it ’s surprisingly not as leisurely to set up as simply “ rolling out the red carpet . ”
harmonise toClassic FM , the rug runs 500 - feet long to cover the perimeter of the Kodak Theatre ( at least where filming is take place ) . The organizers must roll it out several twenty-four hour period ahead of time , and keep it covered with plastic to protect it from the element until the big reveal . transfer the plastic happens a few hours before the dark kick off . It ’s an arduous , but significant and often omit part of the frame-up occupation .
Nominated in seven consecutive decades
The most nominative actor is Meryl Streep who has a aggregate of 21 . Katharine Hepburn still holds the record book for the most wins at four , with Streep and Jack Nicholson tie for indorsement with three each . And there are a lot of milestone moments from the Oscars you are likely familiar with , from Kathryn Bigelow being the first cleaning woman to bring home the bacon Best Director and Hattie McDaniel being the first contraband actor to win an Oscar in 1940 toParasitebecoming the first foreign linguistic communication film to pull ahead Best Picture and Tatum O’Neal being the young winner at just 10 long time old . But one you might not know is that John Williams is the only person in Academy Awards story to be nominated in seven consecutive decadess .
Williams is n’t an actor , but rather a music composer . He has a totality of 54 Academy Award nominations . Starting with his first nominating speech in 1968 for Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment forValley of the Dollsto his most late for Best Original Score forIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyin 2024 , Williams has also been nominated in every decade in between . If that were n’t enough of an attainment , he is also the old individual ever to be nominate at 92 . Williams has win a aggregate of five Academy Awards during his illustrious career to date .
Speech time limits were set because of a 6-minute speech
It ’s perceivable that the Academy plays off winner address with euphony at a specific fourth dimension . Otherwise , some speeches could go on and on . It ’s authoritative to keep the event , and its broadcast , within the specified time . Not amazingly , before this rule was added , someone did indeed roam for quite some time , deliver a full - on soliloquy as her acceptance lecture .
In 1943 , thespian Greet Garson drive home a speech that cross at least six minutes while accept the Best Actress honour forMrs . Miniver . Not long after that , the speech sentence limit was ready to 45 sec to keep the even flow nicely .
The statue’s name isn’t actually Oscar
While everyone calls the golden statue an Oscar , that is n’t technically the name for the full-grown dirty money . It ’s in reality holler the Academy Award of Merit . There are manytheories as how it do to be called Oscar , but no one cognize the unfeigned story .
One theory is that a bibliothec , who later became the executive film director for the Academy , call it this because she believed it resembled her uncle , whose name , of course , was Oscar . The name , or rather byname , became prescribed in 1939 and people continue to call it an Oscar to this day . The Academy Awards are often referred to as The Oscars .
