Academy Award

The Academy Awards are the most prominent film award in the United States. The Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary organization which as of 2002 had over 6000 members.

Academy Awards are nicknamed "Oscars", which is also the nickname of the statuette (the name is said to have been born when Margaret Herrick[?] saw the statuette on a table and said: "It looks just like my uncle Oscar!"). The awards were first given at a banquet in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929 but there was little suspense since the winners of the awards had already been announced three months earlier on February 18. To qualify, a film had to open in Los Angeles during the twelve months ending on July 31 of the preceding year. The 1934 and later awards have all been based on openings in the previous calendar year. The 1932-33 awards were based on a 17-month qualifying period. The "opened in Los Angeles" clause allowed Charlie Chaplin to win his only voted Oscar for Limelight[?] which was made in 1952, but did not open until 1972.

The awards night itself is an elaborate extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the creations of the most prominent fashion designers (who usually loan them to the stars to gain publicity). The awards ceremony is televised around the world.

The judging process and criteria for the awards themselves is the subject of much discussion. The Academy includes a preponderance of, as Charles Taylor, film critic for salon.com describes it, "elderly and (aesthetically) conservative" members. Certain genres of film, such as historical epics (and specifically ones about World War II), seem to appeal to the voters. There is also a wide belief that awards are given for "political" reasons - for instance, rewarding an artist whose career has included many good works but has not thus far received an Academy Award. Less subjectively, it is clear that movie studios spend large amounts of money on campaigns to get their films Oscars - Miramax being the most widely-discussed (and arguably successful) studio at this at present. Such influence is nothing new - it is widely believed that early media mogule William Randolph Hearst ran a campaign to ensure that Citizen Kane, a film regarded by many as the greatest of all time - did not receive Oscars (it received only one, despite nominations in nine categories).

Awards are given in many categories, including the following:

• Academy Award for Best Picture - 1928 to present
• Academy Award for Best Actor - 1928 to present
• Academy Award for Best Actress - 1928 to present
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - 1936 to present
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - 1936 to present
• Academy Award for Best Animated Feature - new category for 2001
• Academy Award for Best Art Direction - 1928 to present (also called Interior or Set Decoration)
• Academy Award for Best Assistant Director - 1933 to 1937
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography - 1928 to present
• Academy Award for Comedy Direction - 1928 only
• Academy Award for Costume Design - 1948 to present
• Academy Award for Best Dance Direction (1935-1937)
• Academy Award for Directing - 1928 to present
• Academy Award for Documentary Feature
• Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject
• Academy Award for Engineering Effects - 1928 only
• Academy Award for Film Editing - 1935 to present
• Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film - 1947 to present
• Academy Award for Makeup
• Academy Award for Original Music Score
• Academy Award for Best Song
• Academy Award for Animated Short Film - 1931 to present
• Academy Award for Live Action Short Film
• Academy Award for Best Short Film - Color (1936-1937)
• Academy Award for Best Short Film - Live Action - 2 Reels (1936-1956)
• Academy Award for Short Film - Novelty (1932-1935)
• Academy Award for Sound
• Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing - 1963 to present
• Academy Award for Best Story (1928-1956)
• Academy Award for Best Title Writing - 1928 only
• Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production - 1928 only
• Academy Award for Visual Effects
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay - 1928 to present
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - 1940 to present
• Scientific or Technical - 1931 to present at three levels
  • Academy Award of Scientific or Technical Merit[?] - a statuette
  • Academy Award for Scientific and Engineering Achievement[?] - a plaque
  • Academy Award for Technical Achievement - a citation

Special Awards:

• Academy Juvenile Award - 1934 to 1960
• Academy Honorary Award
• Academy Special Achievement Award[?]
• The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
• The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
• Gordon E. Sawyer Academy Award[?]

External link

• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (www.oscars.org) (http://www.oscars.org/)