This year marks the 90th return of the annual Academy Awards, more commonly known as The Oscars. That means almost a century of celebrating the best in the film industry! The long-awaited list of nominations was released last Tuesday, Jan. 23. In honor of this, here are a few fun facts about The Oscars.
The first Academy Awards were given in 1929.
The very first Oscars were distributed at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood and looked very different than the statues we know and love today.
They’re said to have gotten their name from the award statue.
The most popular story behind the naming of the iconic statue claims Academy executive director Margaret Herrick thought the statue looked like her uncle, whose name was Oscar. In 1934 Sidney Skolsky, Hollywood gossip columnist, referred to Katharine Hepburn’s award by the name, and within the next five years the name caught on. Oscar was officially named by the Academy in 1939.
There are strict rules for which films qualify for nominations.
With the exception of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, films can only qualify for nominations if they opened the previous calendar year (in this case 2017) in Los Angeles County. Sometimes, if a filmmaker thinks he or she has a possible award-winner, they’ll release it in late December so it’s eligible for nomination.
Meryl Streep has been nominated for an Academy Award 21 times.
Queen Meryl has won three times and is in the running for a fourth, which would tie her with Katherine Hepburn for actor/actress with the most Oscar wins. Is it just me, or is it super awesome that a woman holds this title? Death to the patriarchy!
Courtesy: In Style UK
And finally, here is the complete list of nominations for all the film fanatics like myself:
Best Picture
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Actress in a Leading Role
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
Courtesy: Hollywood Reporter
Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Courtesy: Hollywood Reporter
Actress in a Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
Actor in a Supporting Role
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Director
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Courtesy: IB Times India
Foreign Language Film
A Fantastic Woman
The Insult
Loveless
On Body and Soul
The Square
Documentary (Short)
Edith + Eddie
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405
Heroin(e)
Knife Skills
Traffic Stop
Documentary Feature
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men in Aleppo
Strong Island
Original Song
“Mighty River,” Mudbound
“Mystery of Love,” Call Me by Your Name
“Remember Me,” Coco
“Stand Up for Something,” Marshall
“This is Me,” Greatest Showman
Original Score
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Animated Feature Film
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent
Courtesy: Hollywood Reporter
Adapted Screenplay
Call Me by Your Name
The Disaster Artist
Logan
Molly’s Game
Mudbound
Original Screenplay
The Big Sick
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Production Design
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Cinematography
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water
Costume Design
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Victoria and Abdul
Sound Editing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Film Editing
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Courtesy: Hollywood Reporter
Sound Mixing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Animated Short Film
Dear Basketball
Garden Party
Lou
Negative Space
Revolting Rhymes
Live Action Short Film
DeKalb Elementary
The Eleven O’Clock
My Nephew Emmett
The Silent Child
Watu Wote/All of Us
Visual Effects
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes
Courtesy: Hollywood Reporter
Makeup and Hairstyling
Darkest Hour
Victoria and Abdul
Wonder
Make sure you catch The Oscars live on Sunday, March 4 on ABC at 8 p.m. EST!