15 Facts about the Oscars, the award that makes the hearts of actors and directors flutter, even if they pretend to be indifferent

The 2022 Oscar ceremony will be held in March, but moviegoers are already discussing the possible winners: Dune, King Richard: Creating Champions, Belfast and others. Although people have different opinions about this popular award, one thing is clear: the Oscars do not leave anyone uninterested.

We, from awesome.clubwe decided to reveal to our readers the secrets behind the scenes at the Oscars and remember the record holders of this renowned award.

Oscar winners cannot take the statuette home if they have not signed a document, according to which they do not have the right to sell the award. First of all, the winners must offer it to the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a symbolic value of 1 dollar, that is, simply return it. If the Academy refuses to buy the statuette, then it is possible to put it up for auction. Despite strict rules, some Oscars have sold for astronomical amounts. For example, in 2001, Steven Spielberg bought the Bette Davis statuette for $578,000 and returned it to the Academy, and in 1999, Michael Jackson paid over a million dollars for the award to David Selznick.

But, in theory, stolen figurines being sold could appear. For example, Jared Leto once revealed that he lost his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the film Dallas Buyers Club, but he does not rule out the possibility that it was stolen. At an Oscar ceremony, even ordinary people can earn money. Sometimes big event organizers offer payment to ordinary passers-by just to sit next to celebrities and fill empty seats in the auditorium. But the selection of viewers is strict: they must obey certain rules and the most frustrating thing is not being able to start a conversation with the famous: it is expressly prohibited.
Once Kate Winslet told what she did with her statuette. She decided that the Oscar should be in the bathroom, so guests could get a close look at it while they were there and maybe even “rehearse” a thank you speech. Kate commented that countless times her visitors leave the bathroom very satisfied, and that is how she understands that the “rehearsal” happened.

One of the artists to break the record for Oscar nominations was composer John Williams, responsible for the soundtrack to the films Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park: Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Harry Potter, among others. He has been nominated for the award 52 times, although he has only won five golds. The oldest recipient of the award is James Ivory, who was 89 years old when he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Call Me by Your Name.

James Ivory at the 2018 Academy Awards.

The most awarded films in Oscar history are: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Each of them took 11 statuettes. The five main award categories are: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenplay. In the entire history of the Academy, only three films managed to win awards in these five categories in the same edition of the awards: It Happened One Night, in 1934, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, in 1975 and The Silence of the Lambs, in 1991. career were awarded twice with the Academy Award for Best Actress. Those lucky ones are: Bette Davis for her roles in Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938), Luise Rainer for her performance in Ziegfeld, Maker of Stars (1936) and The Land of Gods (1937), Vivien Leigh for the movies.. .Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Olivia de Havilland with the features Only a Tear Remains (1946) and Too Late (1949) and Elizabeth Taylor for her performance in Butterfield Dial 8 (1960) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).

Vivien Leigh with the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the production … Gone with the Wind, 1940.

As per Academy rules, the acceptance speech after receiving the award cannot last longer than 45 seconds, or it will be interrupted by music from the orchestra. This rule was adopted so that the ceremony would not take too long. But some winners manage to be even more succinct. For example, the shortest speech in Oscar history was given by actress Patty Duke. When she won the Oscar for her role in The Miracle of Anne Sullivan, she only said: “Thank you!” . But it is very rare for competitors to admit it. In 1983, Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi surpassed Steven Spielberg’s ET: The Extra-Terrestrial. Attenborough hugged Spielberg shortly after the ceremony, told him he disagreed with the jury’s choice and that Spielberg’s feature deserved the award.

Richard Attenborough and Ben Kingsley at the Oscar Awards Ceremony.

Renowned fashion and jewelry brands are indeed competing to get a star to appear at the ceremony wearing their creations. When they wear a certain dress or jewelry at the event, celebrities receive cash or other bonuses. However, designers may consider the artist not very popular and refuse to rent the costume. This can also happen to those celebrities whose appearance does not meet fashion standards. For example, Melissa McCarthy admitted that she was rejected, in 2012, by six brands, because almost all the models offered to the stars were small sizes. In the end, the actress appeared at the ceremony wearing a Greek-style dress, created by designer Marina Rinaldi.

The talent and charisma of the presenters sustain the ceremony. But often their job goes beyond just appearing on stage, they really care about the participants. For example, Oscar 2007 host Ellen DeGeneres even vacuumed the carpet in front of the front rows of the auditorium.

The Oscar ceremony lasts more than three hours, during which time some attendees are so hungry that they get bored and stop paying attention to the event itself. So, at the 2014 Oscars, Ellen ordered pizza for everyone. The presenter’s initiative pleased everyone: the stars of Hollywood, who ate the pizza, the spectators, who were convinced that celebrities are human beings too, and the delivery person, who that night received a good tip.

Do you usually attend the Oscar award ceremony or are you indifferent to the event? Tell us in the comments!