The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards. Each year, the global audience eagerly anticipates this prestigious event to celebrate the finest achievements in filmmaking. As the world eagerly awaits the next chapter in the Oscars saga, we bring to you some amazing facts that you might not know…
The 1st Academy Awards were held on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The nominees were notified through a telegram in February 1928 and the winners had been announced three months ahead of the ceremony. 270 people attended the event, which lasted only 15 minutes!
The second ceremony was held on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This was the first Academy Awards ceremony broadcast on radio!
The 25th Academy Awards were held on March 19, 1953 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and the NBC International Theatre in New York City simultaneously. It was the first Oscars ceremony to be televised!
Oscars is the oldest of the four major annual American entertainment awards. The Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music – are modeled after the Academy Awards.
At the 29th ceremony, held in 1957, the Best Foreign Language Film category, now known as Best International Feature Film, was introduced. “La Strada” from Italy won this award, which received a further nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Thus becoming the first foriegn language film to win in this category.
The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. “Shrek” won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature!
Traditionally, the previous year’s winners for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor present the awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.
On February 9, 2020, Korean movie “Parasite” became the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards.
That same evening, Tom Hanks announced the opening of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The Academy Awards still remains the world’s longest-running awards show televised live from the U.S.