Academy Awards, or the Oscars as it is commonly known, is a ceremony organized by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize the extraordinary contribution of professionals towards the film industry professionals. It is the oldest award ceremony and is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the world. The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization, which maintains the voting membership of different branches of film production. The celebrities of the film industry, VIPs, business magnates, and other definitive people walk the red carpet flaunting postures to the media gathering.
The event is primarily held in Hollywood, and it takes place mostly in February or March after the relevant calendar year. The first Academy Awards ceremony happened on May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood, ever since, there has been 83 Academy Award ceremonies organized successfully till date. Since 2002, the Hollywood and Highland Center (Formerly Kodak Theater) in Hollywood has become the permanent venue for the ceremony.
Academy Award statuette
The Academy Awards are bestowed to individuals for their excellence in 24 film related categories:
- Best Picture.
- Actor In a Leading Role.
- Actress In a Leading Role.
- Actor In a Supporting Role.
- Actress In a Supporting Role.
- Animated Feature Film.
- Cinematography.
- Art Direction.
- Costume Design.
- Direction.
- Documentary Feature.
- Documentary Short.
- Film Editing.
- Foreign Language Film.
- Makeup.
- Music (Original Score).
- Music (Original Song).
- Short Film (Animated).
- Short Film (Live Action).
- Sound Editing.
- Sound Mixing.
- Visual Effects.
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
- Writing (Original Screenplay).
There are certain rules which have to be met by the individuals or films in order to qualify for the aforementioned categories, and the same also applies during the voting procedures by the members of the AMPAS organization. There are also seven other types of awards which are presented during the ceremony, namely: the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, the Scientific and Engineering Award, the Technical Achievement Award, the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, and the Student Academy Award. The Academy Award statuette is made of gold plated britannium and weighs about 3.85 kilograms. Its design depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes representing the five branches of the academy, which include actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians. Since 1983, the Oscar statuettes are being designed and manufactured by R.S. Owens & Company, which is based in Chicago, Illinois.
The award ceremony is televised in about 100 countries around the world annually. The ceremony receives a lot of attention from the world media, and has become one of the most anticipated events honoring the excellence in the filming industry every year. For the actors, technicians, producers, directors, and writers, receiving an Academy Award or being nominated for one itself would be a high-grade achievement in their filming careers. With the Oscar fever for the 2011 season yet to fade away from our memories, it would right to say that the film industry professional s have already started to work on their projects targeting a seat and a screening for their project in the famous Hollywood and Highland Center for the 2012 season.
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