On April 25, it will be known who are the best in the film industry for this year. Here, some curiosities of the Oscar, the award that everyone aspires to.
Every time a year begins, the Oscars become a topic of conversation. Which movie will win it? Which actresses and actors will be rewarded for their performances of the year? Who will be the best director? This April 25, 2021, the results will be known in an unusual ceremony due to the Covid-19 pandemic that the world is experiencing.
While we wait for the envelopes to be opened and the presenters to announce: «And the Oscar goes to…»Here are some curiosities about the award that everyone in the film industry dreams of achieving.
Where did your name come from?
Although everyone knows him as “Oscar,” originally the name of the golden statuette awarded each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of the United States, at a gala ceremony, was “Academy Award of Merit.”
Why did you start calling him Oscar? It is said that it all started when Margaret Herrick, the Academy librarian jokingly commented that the statuette reminded her of her uncle Oscar. The truth is that that was the name that was imposed and ended up becoming official from 1939.
The first installment of the Oscar
The first award ceremony was held on May 16, 1929 and was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. In that initial installment, the Best Picture award was awarded in two categories. Wings won Best Film / Production, and Sunrise, as Best Film / Unique and Artistic Production. Starting in 1930, a single award was given to the best film of the year.
Another peculiarity of that first Oscar award was that the awards for the best performances were not given for a single film, but for several. Janet Gaynor was chosen as Best Actress for her work in three films: Sunrise, 7th Heaven Y Street Angel. And the actor Emil Jannings was awarded for his performance in two: The Way of All Flesh Y The Last Command.
The unbeatable
Three films have gone down in history for having “swept” the competition, taking home the five most coveted statuettes: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay.
The first to reach that record was, in 1935, It Happened One Night, with Clark Gable Y Claudette Colbert, directed by Frank Capra. Forty-one years later, in 1976, One Flew Over the Cuckoo´s Nest, the movie of Milos Forman starring Jack Nicholson Y Louise FletcherHe repeated the feat. The third to achieve the feat was, in 1992, The Silence of the Lambs, with Jodie Foster Y Anthony Hopkins, directed by Jonathan Demme.
Young and old winners
There are several actresses who have won Oscars at a very young age. For example, Shirley Temple received an honorary Oscar when he was only 6 years old. Tatum O´Neal she won it for Best Supporting Actress in 1974, when she was 10 years old, for her work in the film Paper Moon, together with his father Ryan O´Neal. Anne Paquin won the same award in 1993, at age 11, for his work in The Piano. At the opposite extreme are actresses, such as Jessica Tandy, who won the Oscar at an advanced age. Jessica won the Best Actress award at age 80, in 1990, for her work in Driving Miss Daisy, Y Gloria Stuart was chosen as Best Supporting Actress at age 87, in 1998, by Titanic.
As for men, the youngest actor to win the Oscar has been Timothy Hutton, who won the award for Best Supporting Actor in 1981, when he was 20 years old, for his performance in Ordinary People. Adrien Brody won his Oscar for Best Actor in 2003, at age 29, for The Pianist. The oldest to take the golden statuette? Christopher Plummer , who was honored at age 83 for his supporting performance in Begginers, at last year’s awards.
Few minutes well spent
Sometimes the Oscar has gone to actors who have played very short roles in movies. This was the case, for example, when Beatrice Straight won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in 1977, for her work in Network. Appearing only 6 minutes on the screen was not an obstacle for him to win. The same thing happened in 1999, when Judi Dench won the same award for bringing the reina Isabel I on Shakespeare in Love. Although he only acted for 8 minutes, his work was shocking.
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A difficult road
Some directors get the Oscar with their first film. So it happened with the British Sam Mendes, who, after a long career as a theater director, made his film debut with American Beauty and won the Oscar in 2000 for that first film. Others, on the other hand, find the path to the golden statue very difficult. An example of this is Martin Scorsese, who reached it after receiving seven nominations over 30 years. He didn’t get it with masterpieces like Raging Bull, The Age of Innocence O Goodfellas, but he finally took home the Oscar in 2007, in his eighth nomination, thanks to the film The Departed.
In the case of actors, some of the highest quality are still waiting for their Oscars. Although they have received two, three and up to four nominations, the statuette always slips out of their hands … Among the ladies are Annette Bening, Glenn Close, Laura Linney, Michelle Williams, Amy Adams, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter Y Viola Davis. And among men, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Ed Harris, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton, Will Smith Y Ralph Fiennes. Matt Damon, although he won an Oscar along with Ben Affleck for Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, he has not achieved it as Best Actor.
Forgotten by “Uncle Oscar”
In today’s Hollywood, there are hugely popular figures who have never been nominated for an Oscar. That is the case of Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Jackman, Jim Carrey, Gerard Butler Y Antonio Banderas.
But this forgetfulness of “Uncle Oscar” should not be a cause for concern. The same happened in the past with stars of the first magnitude like Marilyn Monroe, Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, Kim Novak, Maureen O’Hara Y Robert Taylor. Which shows that winning the Oscar is not essential to become a movie legend.
Oscar award champions
Walt disney He is the person who has received the most Oscars, since throughout his career he took home more than 20 golden statuettes. Among actresses, the record is held by Katharine Hepburn, with four Oscars, followed by Ingrid Bergman Y Meryl Streep, with three each. Between the men, Jack Nicholson he has been crowned Best Actor three times. Walter Brennan, Fredric March Y Spencer Tracy they managed to receive two statuettes each.
Among the directors, the one who accumulated the most awards in his career was John Ford, with four. For its part, Frank Capra Y William Wyler they got three each.
More curiosities
The Oscar award statuette is 34 cm (inches) tall and weighs 3.85 kilograms (8.5 pounds). He wears a gold bath. It was designed in 1928 by Cedric Gibbons, artistic director of the Metro Goldwyn Meyer.
The Academy is in charge of restoring and maintaining the statuettes it delivers. If any of the winners’ trophy is damaged, repair it. This is what happened with the Oscar that the French Juliette Binoche received in 1997 for his supporting role in the film The English Patient. Eight years later, the actress had to have it fixed, as her son played a lot with the Oscar and had ruined it. It was returned to you as new!
In 1985, Steven Spielberg received 11 nominations for his film The Color Purple, one of the great favorites of that year. Didn’t get any! The opposite case: in 2004, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King achieved 11 awards. Everyone he competed for!
Marlon brando Y George C. Scott rejected the Oscars for Best Actor that the Academy awarded them for The Godfather Y Patton, respectively.
Among the European performers who have won the Oscar award are the Italian Sophia Loren Y Roberto Benigni; the french Simone Signoret, Juliette Binoche Y Marion Cotillard; the Spanish Penelope Cruz Y Javier Bardem, and the austrian Christoph Waltz.
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