The
Academy Awards (a.k.a. "The Oscars") are the
most prominent film awards in the United States. The
Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary organization
which as of 2003 had a voting membership of 5816. Actors
(with a membership of 1311) make up the largest voting
bloc. The most recent awards were the 76th Academy Awards.
Academy Awards are nicknamed "Oscars",
after the nickname of the statuette (the name alledgedly
came about when Academy librarian Margaret Herrick
saw the statuette on a table and said: "It looks
just like my uncle Oscar!"). The awards were
first given at a banquet in the Blossom Room of the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929 but there
was little suspense since the winners of the awards
had already been announced three months earlier on
February 18. To qualify, a film had to open in Los
Angeles during the twelve months ending on July 31
of the preceding year. The 1934 and later awards have
all been based on openings in the previous calendar
year. The 1932-33 awards were based on a 17-month
qualifying period. The "opened in Los Angeles"
clause allowed Charlie Chaplin to win his only voted
Oscar for Limelight which was made in 1952, but did
not open until 1972 (rules have subsequently changed
to disallow awards for films more than two years old).
The awards night itself is an elaborate
extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the
red carpet in the creations of the most prominent
fashion designers (who usually loan them to the stars
to gain publicity). The awards ceremony is televised
around the world.
The members of each branch determine
the nominees in their respective category, after which
the entire membership votes for the winner in all
categories. The ballot itself contains just the title
of a work, and not the artist associated with said
work (which may explain why Eminem won Best Song in
2003 over more seemingly Academy-friendly nominees).
Less subjectively, it is clear that
movie studios spend large amounts of money on campaigning
for their films. Miramax has been the most widely-discussed
(and arguably successful) studio that uses this technique.
An award can give a film a huge boost at the box office,
and make an artist an industry "power player"
overnight. In the past few decades, the advent of
VHS tape and DVDs have given Academy Awards a new
level of importance, as the attachment of a win (or
even nomination) in a prominent category can dramatically
increase sales and rentals. The Academy has made much
of cracking down on these campaigns, but the results
have been mixed. Such influence is nothing new; for
example, it is widely believed William Randolph Hearst
ran a campaign to ensure that Citizen Kane -- a film
regarded by many as the greatest of all time -- did
not receive any Academy Award nominations. The film
ended up receiving only one trophy, despite nominations
in nine categories.
Academy Award rules are reviewed annually.
Recent rule changes include the following:
For 2003, the category names for the
writing awards were simplified. The
Screenplay Based on Material Previously
Produced or Published | Category was renamed the |
Adapted Screenplay | category. The category of | Screenplay
Written Directly for the Screen | was renamed | Original
Screenplay.
For 2002, a new category, Best Animated Feature, was
established.
As of 2001, a film cannot appear on the Internet before
its theatrical release and be eligible for an Oscar.
In 2000 (and again in 2003), rules were tightened
to restrict Best Picture nominations and awards to
producers who actually functioned as producers. Up
to three producers are allowed per film. The 1998
Best Picture Oscar went to five producers for Shakespeare
in Love.
The greatest number of Academy Awards won by a film
is 11, this distinction is shared by 3 films: Ben-Hur,
Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King.
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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