As we know, Oscar Awards ceremony is the most awaited movie event of the year,

watched by millions of people across the world. Oscar Awards are considered the highest alter,
which acknowledges all the efforts that go into filmmaking, in the most splendid manner. The
immense popularity of the event makes it all more important. The entire atmosphere is governed
by an element of suspense and excitement. When the winner holds the Oscar statuette in their
hands, no doubt it becomes the most treasured moment of their life. An interesting fact is that
Oscar is only a nickname for the statuette, the real name being The Academy Award of Merit.
Also it weighs 3 kilos and is 34 cm tall.
What we want to say is that this ceremony is much more than just a contest about who is
the best, it is an event that gathers around people all around the continent. In those moments,
during the show, the emotions and excitement is shared by everyone, even if one is a fan of the
ceremony or is just curious if his favourite movie will won a prize.
We know that the Oscar Ceremony takes about two or three hours, but it wasnt always
like this. The first one, was held in an era when there was no such thing as American blockbuster
or herds of paparazzi, in 1929, on 16th of May and it was more like a private party which lasted
for about 15 minutes. It took place out of the public eye during an Academy banquet at the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Two hundred seventy people attended the dinner in the hotels
Blossom Room and guest tickets cost $5.
There was little suspense when the awards were presented that night: the recipients had
already been announced three months earlier. That all changed the following year, however,
when the Academy decided to keep the results secret until the ceremony, but gave a list in
advance to newspapers for publication at 11 p.m. on the night of the Awards. This policy
continued until 1940 when, much to the Academys consternation, the Los Angeles Times broke
the embargo and published the names of the winners in its evening edition which was readily
available to the guests arriving for the ceremony. That prompted the Academy in 1941 to adopt
the sealed-envelope system still in use today.
Only three times in its more than 80-year history has the Academy Awards failed to take
place as scheduled. The first was in 1938, when massive flooding in Los Angeles delayed the
ceremony by a week. In 1968 the Awards ceremony was postponed from April 8 to April 10 out
of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had been assassinated a few days earlier, and
whose funeral was held on April 9. In 1981 the Awards were once again postponed, this time for
24 hours because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
In 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq on the Thursday before the telecast. The show went on
as scheduled, but the red carpet was limited to the area immediately in front of the theater

entrance, the red carpet bleachers were eliminated and the majority of the worlds press was not
invited. The next year, the red carpet was back in full force, with all its glamour and sizzle.
There are also people who criticize this event. In the history of Oscar, only 3 persons
refused to accept their Oscars. The first to do so was Dudley Nichols for Best Writing in 1935
for The Informer. Nichols boycotted the 8th Academy Awards ceremony because of conflicts
between the Academy and the Writers' Guild. George C. Scott became the second person to
refuse his award for Best Actor in 1970 for Patton at the 43rd Academy Awards ceremony. Scott
described it as a 'meat parade', saying 'I don't want any part of it. The third was Marlon
Brando, who refused his award for Best Actor for 1972's The Godfather, citing the film
industry's discrimination and mistreatment of Native Americans. At the 45th Academy
Awards ceremony, Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather to read a 15-page speech detailing his
criticisms.
Along the years, the ceremony was hosted by famous people, but Bob Hope holds the
record for hosting the most Academy Awards with 19 ceremonies between 1940-1978. Also, the
mos nominated actress in Oscar history with 19 nominations is Maryl Streep, who has also won
3 statuttes. But, the record for the most wins is held by Kathryn Hepburn with 4 statuettes. Also,
the most unluckiest movies are The Turning Point and The Colour Purple, each one earning 11
nominations, but not one single win. The most nominated movies of all time were Titanic and All
about Eve with 14 nominations and the movies with the most awards were Titanic, Lord of the
Rings and Ben Hur with 11 wins. The youngest winner in Oscar history was Tatum ONeal. She
was only 10 when she won Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon in 1973. Only 3 animated
movies have received Best Picture nominations: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2010), Toy
Story 3 (2011). The first black woman to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel in the category
Best Supporting Actress for her role in Gone with the Wind in 1940. Also, a very interesting
fact is that no science fiction has ever won a Best Picture award.
There is an equivalent for the Academy Awards in France, named Cesar Award. The first
ceremony was in 1976 and came to a number of 40 editions. This year, for the first time in Cesar
Awards, an American actress has won the prize for Best Supporting Actress, more specifically,
Kristen Stewart for her role in Clouds of Sils Maria.
Now lets talk about this years edition. Who watched the show? What do you think about
Birdman as the best movie from the last year? Who would you have liked to win?