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Monday, March 02, 2009

The Annual Oscars And How It All Started

By Danny Hoover

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science started the award ceremony known as the Oscars back in 1929. Also known as the Academy Awards, this annual event quickly grew in popularity and as a result, the balloting for the awards was taken over by PricewaterhouseCoopers who is still handling the balloting today. The infamous secret envelop system that is used today was introduced in 1941 by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

There are 15 categories in the Academy Awards and the members of the organization are invited to join by the Board of Governors. The awards that are handed out every year weigh 8 pounds and stand 13 inches tall. They feature a black base plate and a gold plated statuette that features a knight with a sword and a 5 spoke film reel.

The initial award which has become known simply as Oscar, was initially created by Alex Smith and George Stanley. Today they are seen almost exactly as they were when they were first created other then a single change. Every year there are only 40 of these Oscars that are produced for the ceremony.

The eligibility for a film to be nominated for an Oscar requires that it has been made in the previous 16 month period before the show. It was originally supposed to only be 12 months, however in 1932 because of the war the ruler were changed and have not been reversed. There is a minimum of 40 minutes in length as well as a resolution of 1280 by 720 in order for a film to be eligible for the awards.

The Academy Awards have shifted venues, days of the week and even months of the year for the annual event. The original ceremony was held on a Thursday and this continued on until 1954 when it would be moved to occurring on a Monday. They would continue being held on Mondays for another 60 years and then in 1999, the Academy Award ceremony was moved to Sundays.

The movie industry and the Oscars ceremony were surrounded by glamour and mystique since they first began. One would never have dreamt back then that we would have the ability to indulge ourselves in movie magic in the comfort of our own homes with the introduction of dvd rental.

In the beginning, the Hotel Roosevelt would be called home to the ceremony. This was to be the venue for only the first Academy Awards and after that the Biltmore and Ambassador Hotels became the venues until the 1940s.

Then the venues would be changed to the Grauman's Chinese Theater, followed by the Shrine Auditorium and then in 1949, the Academy Award Theater. The Pantages Theater would stay the home for the next decade after which the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium would become its home. Until 1988, the Los Angeles Music Center along with the Shrine Auditorium would become the place for the awards here it was finally moved to the Kodak Theater.

Every year there are more then a billion people who will tune in to the Oscars worldwide. They may not always agree with what the world thinks is the best films of the yea, but one thing everyone has in common is that the glitter and glamour that makes Hollywood so attractive draws people to see who will win the top awards.

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