The Oscars: Its History and Its Infamous Trophy

Introduction

The Academy Awards, commonly known as The Oscars, is an annual awards ceremony that honors outstanding achievements in the film industry. The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The Academy Awards has a rich history and like most things, started small and grew over time.

How It Started

The idea for the awards ceremony came from Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Mayer wanted to create an event to honor the accomplishments of the film industry and promote the motion picture as an art form. Mayer partnered with the heads of the other major film studios at the time, including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox, to create the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which would oversee the awards.

The very first Academy Awards ceremony was attended by only about 270 guests. Hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks, it featured 12 categories of awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Since the winners were announced in advance, there were no surprises during the actual awards ceremony.

All In A Name: Oscar

The Academy officially adopted the name "Oscar" for the trophies in 1939. However, the origin of the nickname is very disputed. One version of the origination story is that famed actress, Bette Davis, who was a president of the Academy in 1941, claims she named the award after her first husband, band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson. Another story is that Margaret Herrick, the Academy executive director, who, when she first saw the award in 1931, said the statuette reminded her of "Uncle Oscar", a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce. There are a few other stories as well. However, to this day, none of these stories have been 100% confirmed.

Creating Oscar

The Oscar trophy, also known as the Academy Award of Merit, was created by the Chicago-based fine art foundry, R.S. Owens & Company. They have been in business since 1938. And in 1973, they started making the Emmy award trophies. Here are the general steps involved in the creation of The Oscar:

Design: The design of the Oscar statue is created by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The current design, which has remained largely unchanged since 1929, depicts a knight holding a sword, standing on a reel of film with five spokes, representing the original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers).

Sculpting: Once the design is finalized, a sculptor creates a full-size clay model of the statue, which is used to create a plaster mold.

Casting: The statue is cast in gold-plated bronze using the lost wax method, in which a wax model is encased in plaster, melted out, and replaced with molten metal.

Polishing: The cast statue is polished by hand to create a smooth surface.

Assembly: The various parts of the statue, including the base, figure, sword, and film reel, are assembled and welded together.

Engraving: The nameplate on the base of the statue is engraved with the recipient's name and the title of the film for which the award is given.

Overall, the process takes several weeks to complete, and each statue is unique and handmade.

Growing In Popularity

Over the years, the Academy Awards ceremony has grown in size and prestige, becoming one of the most important events in the film industry. In 1941, the first televised broadcast of the awards ceremony took place. In 1953, the ceremony was first broadcast internationally. In 1969, the awards ceremony was first held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. But since 2001, the Dolby Theatre has been the home for the Oscars as it was designed specifically with the Oscars in mind.

The Oscars Today

Today, the Academy Awards ceremony now features more than 20 categories of awards. The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, honor excellence in the film industry across a variety of categories. Here are the most common categories:

Best Picture - awarded to the film deemed the best overall.
Best Director - awarded to the director of the best film.
Best Actor - awarded to the best male performance in a leading role.
Best Actress - awarded to the best female performance in a leading role.
Best Supporting Actor - awarded to the best male performance in a supporting role.
Best Supporting Actress - awarded to the best female performance in a supporting role.
Best Original Screenplay - awarded to the best script written specifically for the screen.
Best Adapted Screenplay - awarded to the best script based on previously published material.
Best Animated Feature - awarded to the best animated film.
Best Foreign Language Film - awarded to the best film from a country other than the United States.
Best Documentary Feature - awarded to the best documentary film.
Best Original Score - awarded to the best musical score specifically created for a film.
Best Original Song - awarded to the best original song created for a film.
Best Visual Effects - awarded to the film with the best visual effects.

The winners are chosen by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As of 2023, the Academy includes almost 10,000 members from all areas of the film industry.




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