The Academy Awards are watched adamantly by millions of people each year. The show inspires bets, parties, and elaborate mock award shows, giving fans the chance to root for the actors they love best. These awards may be several decades old, but even the most rabid fans don’t know a few things about the Oscars. The awards’ nickname “The Oscars” is a trivia itself. It doesn’t have anything to do with the title of the awards, but everything to do with the statue that’s given away. Someone mentioned the gold figurine resembled “Uncle Oscar”. Hence, the name was born. With the Oscars 2012 only a few more months away, the following are four more interesting things about the Academy Awards.
1. The Youngest Nominee for Best Director – Before 1991, the youngest best director nominee was Orson Welles. He was nominated for the groundbreaking Citizen Kane. Welles was 26 at the time of his nomination. He held the record for half a century until Boys N the Hood director John Singleton was nominated. Singleton was 24 years old. The youngest director to actually win is Norman Taurog who in 1931 won the award for his movie Skippy.
2. Uncle Oscar Wasn’t Always Made of Metal – There was a three year period during the time of shortages and rations in World War II that the Oscar statues were not actual metal. The statues were made of plaster instead and painted gold. When the war ended and shortages eased the Academy began offering metal statuettes plated in real gold.
3. Surprise! – Between 1929 and 1939, the Academy Awards’ first 10 years, the names of the winners were given to the media three months in advance. This allowed for stories to be effectively prepared. There was an understanding between the Academy and the media that the winners were not to be divulged to the public until after the awards night. Unfortunately this condition was broken in 1939 and the next year the release to the media was ended. This started the tradition of having the sealed envelope — no one except a few in the Academy knew who the winner is until the envelope is opened.
4. The Oscar Statuette Comes with a Condition – Oscar winners don’t really get to keep their statuettes free and clear. Neither do their families and heirs. After 1950, the Academy made it a requirement to winners that if they wanted to sell their statuettes, they must give the Academy first dibs for just $1. If they refuse, they don’t get to take the statuette home.
For information on Oscar 2012 dates, predictions, nominations and general Academy Awards trivia, visit our website Oscars2012.net
