22 Oscar Facts To Impress Your Friends
By
Shehzad in
Facts
On 29th February 2016
Every year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes outstanding achievements in film. Since its inception in 1929, a total of 2,947 Oscar statues have been handed out to winners in categories like Best Actor, Best Picture, and Best Director, to name a few.
This Sunday, the 88th Academy Awards fans will eagerly watch their favorite actors strut down the red carpet wearing either a stunning or cringe-worthy designer dress. It is all about the speeches, the tears, and fashion that makes the Oscar the best night in Hollywood.
Here are some fun facts to get you ready for Oscar night.
#1
Meryl Streep is the most nominated actor of all time. She has received 19 Academy Award nominations and won three times
#2
It is believed the nickname Oscar came from the Academy's librarian and later executive director, Margaret Herrick. When Herrick first saw the statue she remarked how much the statue looked like her uncle Oscar. The official name is the Academy Award of Merit
#3
The Oscar statue is the property of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Winners interested in selling their trophy must first offer to sell it to the Academy for $1
#4
Kevin O'Connell is considered to be the "unluckiest nominee in the history of the Academy Awards." The sound re-recording mixer has been nominated 20 times and has yet to win the coveted award. Some of the films he has been nominated for have been: The Rock, Top Gun, Spiderman, Transformers, and Apocalypto
#5
Business partners from PricewaterhouseCoopers Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz are in charge of keeping the final results a secret. The two have to memorize the results, arriving at the ceremony in separate cars, and each has a set of the envelopes. They keep a third set at a secret location.
#6
Ben Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return are tied in winning the most Oscars in 11 categories
#7
Tatum O'Neal is the youngest award winner. She won for Best Supporting Actress in Paper Moon in 1973 when she was only 10 years old
#8
Canadian thespian Christopher Plummer is the oldest award winner. He was 82 years old when he won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting role for Beginners in 2010.
#9
The first Academy Awards were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California in 1929. The private dinner had approximately 270 people in attendance.
#10
The Godfather Part II is the only sequel film to win a Best Picture award
#11
The red carpet at the Dolby Theatre is 500 feet long
#12
Oscar represents a knight standing on a reel of film, holding a sword. It was designed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer art director Cedric Gibbons.
#13
Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando are the only actors in the history of the Academy to win an Oscar for playing the same character. They portrayed Vito Corleone in The Godfather in 1972 and The Godfather Part II in 1974
#14
The Dolby Theatre (formerly named the Kodak Theatre) is the location where the ceremony has been held since 2002. The theatre has a seating capacity of 3,300 seats.
#15
In 1977, Sylvester Stallone was nominated for Best Actor for the role of Rocky Balboa which he lost. 39 years late he is getting a second chance to win under Best Supporting for the same character
#16
France and Italy are tied at 12 nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film category
#17
The Governor's ball, the party after the ceremony, was cancelled the year Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
#18
The ceremony will be watched by millions of people worldwide with the show broadcasted in 225 countries
#19
Sidney Poitier became the first black actor to win the Academy Award in the Best Actor category in 1964. He also won an Honorary Award in 2002.
#20
Academy Award winners have the daunting task of deciding where to put their statue once they get it home. Kate Winslet has her Oscar in the bathroom, this way guests can practice their acceptance speech. Fellow Brit Emma Thompson also has her Oscar in the bathroom, she explains "I think you have to have a sense of humour about these things."
#21
Nominees in the category of Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress are taking home a huge goodie bag. The marketing firm Distinctive Assets is giving out a gift bag worth $232,000. Among the gifts is a 10-day all expenses paid trip to Israel worth $55,000. Other goodies include a Vampire Breast Lift, haze vaporizer, and $275 toilet paper.
#22
There are many Hollywood heavyweights who have not won the Academy Award. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Tom Cruise, Glenn Close, Sigourney Weaver, Ed Harris, and Viola Davis are just some of the actors deserving of the award.
