The 89th Academy Awards are tomorrow and are set to premiere on Feb. 26, 2017 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California. This year’s award show features many critically acclaimed films, in particular “La La Land” which has 14 nominations. In the spirit of awards season, here are 10 things you may not know about the world-famous awards show.
1. The first Academy Awards ceremony was in 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel. The first televised Academy Awards ceremony was in 1953 and wasn’t televised in color until 1966.
2. In 1940, the winners were revealed prior to the ceremony by the Los Angeles Times, so the Academy introduced the closed envelope tradition.
3. Oscar statues used to be made from painter plaster during World War II because of metal shortages. The statues were eventually replaced with the statues we see today.
4. An Oscar statue weighs 8.5 pounds.
5. The Oscar Statue was created by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons and represents a knight standing on a reel of film holding a sword.
6. The red carpet outside the Dolby Theater is 500 feet long.
7. Nameplates for all possible winners are prepared ahead of time.
8. Jack Nicholson has received 12 Oscar nominations making him the most nominated male actor.
9. Kathryn Bigelow, the director of “The Hurt Locker”, was the first woman to win the best director award.
10. Bob Hope has hosted the Academy Awards 19 times, making him the most frequent host.
Enjoy the show!
Image Sources: Oscar, La La Land
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