We have answers to all of your questions: Why is it called “The Oscar”? How are Oscar statuettes made? How did the Oscars start? Have the Oscar winners always been a secret? What category changes have been made to the Oscars? Who votes for the Oscars? What are the different branches of the Academy? And why is your blog named The Gold Knight? Find all the answers below…
The statuette
Manufacturing Time: 3 months for 50 statuettes
Manufacturer: Polich Tallix
Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. While the origins of the moniker aren’t clear, a popular story has it that upon seeing the trophy for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn’t adopt the nickname officially until 1939, but it was widely known enough by 1934 that Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in a piece referring to Katharine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win. – The Academy*As of 2019
How Oscars are made:
Since 2016, the iconic statuettes are made in New York at Polich Tallix. Watch the video:
1st Academy Awards- Date: May 16, 1929
- Location: Blossom Room, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, down the street from today's venue, the Dolby Theatre
- In attendance: 270 people
- Guest ticket price: $5
- Academy President Douglas Fairbanks handed out the statuettes
- 15 statuettes were awarded for cinematic achievements in 1927 and 1928
- First Best Actor winner: German tragedian Emil Jannings. He returned to Europe before the ceremony and requested to receive the trophy early, making his statuette the very first Academy Award ever presented
Keeping the winners secret
At the 1st Academy Awards, winners were announced three month prior to the ceremony. The following year, the Academy kept the results secret, but it gave the names of the winners to newspapers in advance — for publication after the awards. The Los Angeles Times, however, broke the embargo placed on the winning names in 1940 and published the list before the ceremony. The Academy then changed its policy the next year and the sealed-envelope system was born.
A delayed ceremony
The ceremony has only been five times since the Academy Awards inception more than 90 years ago:
- 1938: Massive flooding in Los Angeles delayed the ceremony a week
- 1968: Postponed April 8-10, out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated April 4 and whose funeral was held April 9
- 1981: Postponed for 24 hours because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan
- 2003: The ceremony was not delayed, but the red carpet was limited — no fans or press — because of U.S. forces invading Iraq on the Thursday before the telecast
- 2021: The ceremony was delayed because of the ongoing global pandemic
Category changes
Since the creation of the Oscars, names of categories have been changed, with some being dropped all together. The most recent name change came in June of 2020, for the 93rd Oscars, when Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, have been combined into one award for Best Achievement in Sound.
The Academy announced in 2019 that it would change the Foreign Language Film category name to International Feature Film.
Other changes include in August of 2012, upon a recommendation from the Designers Branch (formerly known as the Art Directors Branch), the Art Direction award changed its name to Production Design. That same year, in June of 2012, the makeup category was changed to Makeup and Hairstyling.
Voting membership
As of March 2021, there were 9,300 voting members of the Academy (up 831 over last year).
Last January, there were 8,469 voting members. In January 2019, there were 7,902 voting members. In January 2018, there were 7,258 voting members. In February 2017, the number was 6,687 and 6,261 the year before.
There were 6,961 members as of December 2014.; however, not all members can vote. Those invited to join the Academy as Associate members are not represented on the Board and do not have Academy Awards voting privileges.
In the summer of 2020, The Academy invited 819 from 68 countries to join its ranks. Read more about invitations over the years. The Academy annually announces those invited to join its ranks in mid to late June.
The branches
The five original branches of the Academy (as represented in the Oscar statuette’s design) were actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.
Today, there are 17 branches – actors, animators and short film makers, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, composers and songwriters, designers (formerly art directors), directors, documentary filmmakers, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, producers, public relations specialists, sound artists and engineers, visual effects experts and writers. The largest group is the Actors Branch.
The non-profit organization's Board of Governors announced in July 2013 the creation of a 17th branch: the Casting Directors Branch. Casting directors have typically been invited to join the Academy Members-at-Large during the past 30 years.
The 16th branch to be created was the Costume Designers Branch, announced in January of 2013. They had previously been a part of the Designers Branch, which also includes production designers, art directors and set decorators. Before that, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch was the most recent branch to be created, in 2006.
Here is the breakdown, as of March 5, 2021 (with membership change since 2019):
Source of numbers: The Wrap
About TheGoldKnight.com
Our blog's name was derived from the description of the Oscar statuette — “A knight holding a crusader’s sword, standing on a reel of film.” The poster for the 74th Academy Awards also served as the perfect inspiration. Thus, TheGoldKnight.com was born.
Updated: March 14, 2021
Voting membership
Last January, there were 8,469 voting members. In January 2019, there were 7,902 voting members. In January 2018, there were 7,258 voting members. In February 2017, the number was 6,687 and 6,261 the year before.
There were 6,961 members as of December 2014.; however, not all members can vote. Those invited to join the Academy as Associate members are not represented on the Board and do not have Academy Awards voting privileges.
In the summer of 2020, The Academy invited 819 from 68 countries to join its ranks. Read more about invitations over the years. The Academy annually announces those invited to join its ranks in mid to late June.
The branches
The five original branches of the Academy (as represented in the Oscar statuette’s design) were actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.
Today, there are 17 branches – actors, animators and short film makers, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, composers and songwriters, designers (formerly art directors), directors, documentary filmmakers, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, producers, public relations specialists, sound artists and engineers, visual effects experts and writers. The largest group is the Actors Branch.
The non-profit organization's Board of Governors announced in July 2013 the creation of a 17th branch: the Casting Directors Branch. Casting directors have typically been invited to join the Academy Members-at-Large during the past 30 years.
The 16th branch to be created was the Costume Designers Branch, announced in January of 2013. They had previously been a part of the Designers Branch, which also includes production designers, art directors and set decorators. Before that, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch was the most recent branch to be created, in 2006.
Here is the breakdown, as of March 5, 2021 (with membership change since 2019):
| Actors Branch: 1,359 members (+35, from 2019) Governors: Laura Dern Whoopi Goldberg Alfred Molina Casting Directors Branch: 142 members (+14) Governors: Lora Kennedy David Rubin Bernard Telsey Cinematographers Branch: 282 members (+9) Governors: Ellen Kuras Daryn Okada Mandy Walker Costume Designers Branch: 167 members (+13) Governors: Ruth E. Carter Jeffrey Kurland Isis Mussenden Directors Branch: 64 members (+38) Governors: Susanne Bier Kimberly Peirce Steven Spielberg Documentary Branch: 595 members (+109) Governors: Kate Amend Rory Kennedy Roger Ross Williams Executives Branch: 663 members (+72) Governors: Jim Gianopulos Donna Gigliotti David Linde Film Editors Branch: 371 members (+26) Governors: Dody J. Dorn Carol Littleton Michael Tronick Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch: 224 members (+18) Governors: Howard Berger Kathryn L. Blondell Lois Burwell Marketing and Public Relations Branch: 587 members (+73) Governors: Sid Ganis Christina Kounelias Nancy Utley Music Branch: 374 members (+29) Governors: Charles Bernstein Michael Giacchino Laura Karpman | Producers Branch: 614 members (+31) Governors: Albert Berger Mark Johnson Jennifer Todd Production Design Branch: 382 members (+39) Governors: Tom Duffield Jan Pascale Wynn P. Thomas Includes art directors, production designers and set decorators Short Films and Feature Animation Branch: 818 members (+78) Governors: Bonnie Arnold Jennifer Yuh Nelson Tom Sito Sound Branch: 536 members (33) Governors: Kevin Collier Teri E. Dorman Scott Millan Visual Effects Branch: 580 members (+35) Governors: Craig Barron Richard Edlund John Knoll Writers Branch: 499 members (+14) Governors: Larry Karaszewski Billy Ray Eric Roth Members-At-Large: 543 members (+165) Includes production managers and stunt coordinators Governors: (Nominated by the President and elected by the board) Devon Franklin Rodrigo García Janet Yang Total Voting Members: 9,300 (+831) Associate Members*: 95 members (-113) Includes talent agents and those who may not fit into a specific branch Emeritus (Retired) Members*: 881 members (+21) Total Active Members: 9,395 (+881 retired) = 10,276 (+739) *Non-Oscar-voting members |
Source of numbers: The Wrap
About TheGoldKnight.com
Our blog's name was derived from the description of the Oscar statuette — “A knight holding a crusader’s sword, standing on a reel of film.” The poster for the 74th Academy Awards also served as the perfect inspiration. Thus, TheGoldKnight.com was born.
Updated: March 14, 2021
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