Before the 96th Academy Awards
Interesting facts about the famous Oscar statue
Over 3,000 Oscar statues have been awarded to award winners so far.
© Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com
All Oscar winners receive the famous Oscar statue on the ceremony stage. Some interesting facts about the trophy.
It goes to whoever wins the ultimate film prize: The Oscar statue is officially called the “Academy Award of Merit”, like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscar. writes on her official website. The Oscar was awarded for the first time in 1929. And the first winner was a German: Emil Jannings (1884-1950) received the first Academy Award for “Best Actor”, and for two different films – “His Last Order” (1928) by Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969) and Victor Fleming’s (1889-1949) “The Way of All Flesh” (1927).
Jannings’ Oscar statue is on display at the Museum of Film and Television in Berlin. Since this trophy, well over 3,000 Academy Awards have been presented – in 95 ceremonies so far. The 96th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 10th. Below are some interesting facts about the Oscar statue.
The technical details
An Oscar trophy is 34.3 centimeters high and weighs about 3.9 kilograms. The statue is made of gilded bronze on a black metal base and depicts a kind of knight with a sword standing on a film reel in the Art Deco style. This role consists of five spokes, which, according to the Oscar Academy, “symbolize the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers).”
A single Oscar statue is said to take up to ten days to make. Interestingly, more statues are made for an awards ceremony, than will ultimately be used. This is because the names of the prize winners are only added after the winners have been announced. It is therefore not yet clear how many statues will actually be needed in the end, as in some categories more than one person can be nominated. The remaining statues are then simply stored for next year.
That’s why the statue is called “Oscar”
According to legend, the “Academy Award of Merit” is popularly called “Oscar” because the Academy’s librarian at the time, Margaret Herrick, is said to have noticed in the 1930s when she saw the statue that it resembled her uncle Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has also officially used this name since 1939.
Who modeled for the Oscar statue?
Although the Oscar Academy’s official website states: “No model was used during the design process,” but actually the Mexican actor Emilio Fernandez (1904-1986) modeled for the designer Cedric Gibbons (1890-1960). Gibbons worked as a senior art director for the legendary film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was nominated for an Oscar 39 times during his long career, which he won eleven times. The sculptor George Stanley (1903-1970) is said to have implemented Gibbons’ design.
Selling prohibited
Selling an Oscar is prohibited. Therefore, the trophy must first be offered to the Academy for repurchase – for the symbolic amount of one US dollar. This regulation, introduced in 1951, even applies to the heirs of the prize winners.
These prices have already been paid for Oscar statues
However, Oscar statues awarded before 1951 are not subject to this regulation. The megastar Michael Jackson (1958-2009), who died in 2009, is said to have been nominated for the Oscar for “Best Film” in 1999 for “Gone with the Wind”. The Hollywood Reporter reported that they paid $1.54 million.
Director legend Steven Spielberg (77) is said to be making Oscar statues of Bette Davis (1908-1989) and Clark Gable (1901-1960). almost $1.2 million was spent and subsequently donated both Academy Awards of Merit to the Oscar Academy.
Until 1962 there was the “Half Oscar”
A curious fact in Oscar history: In 1935, child star Shirley Temple (1928-2014) received a so-called “Academy Juvenile Award” for the first time – for her performance in “Laughing Eyes” (1934). These “mini-Oscars” were intended to honor child stars without having to compete unfairly with their adult colleagues.
The statue itself, also called the “Oscarette,” was only half the size of its famous model and was not awarded every year because there were not always candidates for the trophy. In 1962, the Oscar Academy finally stopped awarding this sweet special prize.