Besides being the most prestigious and glamorous Hollywood event of the year, the Oscars is also the most fun and entertaining event to watch. From Ellen’s selfie session to ordering pizzas, trust the Oscars to be a very enjoyable event. At an event like this, we get to know the actors and the films so much more but there are still many facts about the Oscars you would have never guessed. Here’s a list of 10 fun facts about the Oscars aka The Academy Awards.
It cost peanuts to attend the first Academy Awards
The Oscars are Hollywood’s glitziest and most exclusive star-studded event, but the very first ceremony in 1929 was a private affair held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - and a ticket cost just $5.
The first Oscar winner for Best Actress in 1929 showed up in an off-the-rack skirt, top and scarf
While today it is considered the most glamorous event in Hollywood, as mentioned in the previous point, it wasn’t always like this. So much so that the winner for Best Actress, Janet Gaynor came dressed in an off-the-rack skirt, top and scarf. Talk about the evolution of Oscar fashion.
Walt Disney has won 22 Academy Awards from 59 nominations
Walt Disney has won the most number of Oscars in its 9 decade history. In total, he won 22 competitive Oscars and 3 honorary ones, out of a total of 59 nominations. He was nominated for at least one Oscar every year between 1942 and 1963.
First Color Movie
Gone With the Wind (1939) was the first movie filmed in color to win the Best Picture Award.
Posthumous Awards
Heath Ledger and Peter Finch are the only two people who have won an Oscar posthumously. Heath Ledger in 2009, and Peter Finch in 1976. Finch died on January 14th of a heart attack, and his Best Actor Oscar for the film Network was accepted by his wife, Eletha. Heath Ledger died on January 22nd, 2008, from complications of mixing prescription drugs.
Source:http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-interesting-facts-about-the-oscars.php
A 20-Year Wait
In a strange turn of events, Charlie Chaplin's movie Limelight, which was produced in 1952, won an Academy Award in 1972—20 years after its first release. According to the Academy's rules at the time, a movie could not be considered for an Academy Award until it had played in Los Angeles. When Limelight finally played at a theater in Los Angeles in 1972, it became eligible for an award.
Fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director and First Woman for Cinematography
While the Oscars is a lot of things, one thing it has always been accused of is having a lack of diversity- from gender to colour. In the history of 90 years, Greta Gerwig is only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director this year. The only woman to win an award in this category was Kathryn Bigelow for Hurtlocker in 2010. If Greta Gerwig wins this year, she will be the second woman to win an Oscar for Best Director. And Rachel Morrison is the first woman ever to be nominated for cinematography.
Watch if they win this year and make history, live on Star Movies and Star Movies Select HD on March 5 at 5: 30 am.
The Statuette Up Close
Most of the first time winners always comment that they didn’t think the statuette would be so heavy. In all actuality, he Oscar statuette stands at 13 1/2 inches tall and weighs 8 1/2 pounds. It depicts a knight, holding a sword, standing on a reel of film which has five spokes, representing the 5 original branches of the Academy--actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers.
Halle Berry- First woman of colour to win the Award
Halle Berry was the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress in 2002 for her movie, Monster’s Ball. It was an overwhelming moment for the entire community. However, till date she is the only woman of colour to win an Oscar in this category.
The Academy Awards was robbed – literally
When a front-runner loses the Academy Award, there are often cries that he or she was “robbed.” But the Academy was actually robbed in 2000, when two men stole packing crates filled with 55 Oscar statuettes. All but three of the trophies were recovered after the crates were found in the trash. (The third one was eventually discovered by FBI agents during a drug investigation three years later.)
Watch the Oscars live this year on Star Movies and Star Movies Select HD on March 5 at 5:30am.