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Academy AwardsOften called the Oscars after the eponymous gold statue, the Academy Awards are an annual ceremony recognizing artistic and technical merit in the film industry. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences vote for winners across a range of categories, including acting, cinematography, sound design, and more.
AMPAS was founded in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios, as a way of managing labor disputes and the public image of the film industry.
More than 3,000 Oscars have been awarded overall. Walt Disney has taken home more than any other individual, with 26 wins, while "Ben-Hur," "Titanic," and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" are the most-awarded films with 11 Oscars apiece.
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Diana Ross starred in a Motown-produced biopic about Billie HolidayThe 1972 film "Lady Sings the Blues" was loosely based on Holiday's autobiography and starred Ross, then pursuing her post-Supremes solo career. The Motown production had big names (including Billy Dee Williams and Richard Pryor) and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including one for Ross' performance. You can watch the film below. eric r.Mark Zuckerberg and Jesse Eisenberg met during Eisenberg's 'Saturday Night Live' monologueWhen Jesse Eisenberg hosted "SNL" in 2011 ahead of an Academy Awards appearance for his portrayal of Zuckerberg in "The Social Network," Zuckerberg actually came on stage. That was the first time the two met, and many viewers said the interaction was awkward. Eisenberg tried to meet Zuckerberg before filming "The Social Network," but his producers told him he couldn't for legal reasons. YouTubeOscar voters are now required to watch all movies in a category before votingThis rule, introduced for the 2026 Academy Awards, is based on the honor system. A handful of voters afterwards admitted to not watching all the films in their category. InsideHookSix American diplomats secretly hid in the Canadian Embassy for months after escaping the hostage crisisWhen Iranian students seized the US Embassy, six Americans slipped away and took refuge with the Canadian Ambassador. The CIA orchestrated a daring escape under the cover of a fake film crew—later depicted in the Academy Award-winning film "Argo." HISTORYWatch 'Black Orpheus,' the film that helped popularize bossa novaThe 1959 film, directed by Marcel Camus, was soundtracked by bossa nova musicians Antônio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfá. It was a big hit, winning the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and the 1960 Academy Award for best foreign language film, helping spread the genre in Brazil and beyond. Cult Cinema ClassicsThe youngest Oscar winners in historyThe awards often go to veterans who have paid their dues, but sometimes the bright young stars manage to break through. That was the case with these 14 Oscar winners (like Adrien Brody, Prince, and Markéta Irglová) who earned accolades despite their relatively green status. Mental FlossAfter Beyoncé won the Grammy for best country album, the Grammys created a new categoryThe singer took home the award for best country album in 2025 for "Cowboy Carter." Months after the awards, and some criticism from the country community, the Grammys announced a new category for 2026: best contemporary country album. Ostensibly, that makes room for the genre's traditionalists and its innovators, though the distinction between the two categories is vague. Taste of CountryPlenty of groundbreaking films never won an OscarThe Academy Awards may look to celebrate the best films in a given year, but they sometimes miss the mark. This list breaks down 15 important movies that didn't win a single Oscar, including early classics like "Frankenstein" and "Double Indemnity," New Hollywood landmarks like "Easy Rider" and "Taxi Driver," and pop culture phenoms like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Reservoir Dogs." Mental FlossThe head of MGM Studios created the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to combat unionization effortsThe organization, which votes for the Academy Awards, was founded in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios, to stifle labor disputes and maintain the public image of the film industry. "I found that the best way to handle them was to hang medals all over them,” Mayer said, according to Scott Eyman's biography of the studio head. ABC NewsOscar winners are selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesThe organization includes over 10,000 members who work in various aspects of the film industry. Specific branches nominate for relevant categories, but once nominees have been selected, all members can vote for the award winners. For most categories, the nominee with the most votes wins. Best picture, however, uses ranked-choice voting. PBS NewsJuvenile Oscars were handed out from 1935 to 1961The Academy Juvenile Award recognized the best child actors in a given year, with luminaries like Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney taking home the prestigious trophies. Fittingly, they were 7 inches tall, about half the size of a regular Oscar. Atlas Obscura'Over the Rainbow' became a widely covered standardJudy Garland’s original 1939 version won the Academy Award for best original song, though it never appeared on the Billboard pop singles chart (which didn’t appear until 1940). Twenty different versions of the song by other artists—including Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, and Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole—have appeared on numerous Billboard charts. BillboardThe Oscars considered the use of computer-assisted special effects in 'Tron' unfairThe 1982 film relied heavily on computer animation, so much so that the Academy Awards disqualified the film from its special effects category because they considered the computer-assisted graphics "cheating." the GuardianBody horror is a subgenre that uses anxieties about appearanceMade popular in the 1980s through films like “The Fly,” the body horror subgenre focuses on physical transformation and violence. It gained significant attention in 2024, thanks to the critical attention “The Substance” received, including an Academy Award nomination for best picture. The ConversationEY 'Yip' Harburg is the lyricist behind 'The Wizard of Oz'The 1939 film’s songs were written by composer Harold Arlen and lyricist EY “Yip” Harburg. In an early draft of "Over the Rainbow," the movie's most famous song, Harburg scribbled "Some day I’ll wish upon a star + wake + find the darkness far behind me,” which would eventually become the iconic line, “Some day I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.” Smithsonian Magazine'Streets of Philadelphia' won an Academy Award in 1994The song was written for “Philadelphia,” a 1993 film starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, and narrates the emotional journey of Hanks’ character, a gay man who’s fired after his employer learns that he has AIDS. The song won the Oscar for best original song the following year. BruceSpringsteenVEVOThe 25 most important stunt scenes of the 21st CenturyThe Academy Awards will finally recognize stunt design at its 2028 ceremony, leading one writer to gather the best stunt sequences from the century, highlighting jaw-dropping scenes from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Matrix," and more. The RingerSpielberg worked on ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ at the same timeSeemingly polar opposites, two of Steven Spielberg’s most popular movies were created in the same time period. Spielberg would shoot “Schindler’s List” during the day, then work on special-effects editing for “Jurassic Park” at night. The movies won a combined 10 Oscars at the 1994 Academy Awards. The IndependentSpielberg submitted 'Schindler's List' and 'Jurassic Park' for college creditAfter dropping out at 21, Spielberg reenrolled as a student at California State University, Long Beach in 2001, and earned a paleontology credit for “Jurassic Park.” His final project for an advanced film studies course was “Schindler’s List,” which won the Academy Award for best picture nearly 10 years earlier. SlashFilmWatch Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 film noir, 'Rebecca'"Rebecca" was Hitchcock's first American film and is the only Hitchcock film to win the Academy Award for best picture. The story, based on a 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier, is about a widower (played by acting legend Laurence Olivier) and the haunting direction his life takes in her wake. Grandpa's Old Movie Chest'Toy Story' was the first fully computer generated film to win an Academy AwardBefore it was acquired by Disney, Pixar was a small studio exploring the possibilities of computer animation. “Tin Toy,” a 1988 short film that would inspire 1995’s “Toy Story,” was one of its most successful experiments, earning Pixar’s first Academy Award for best animated short film and becoming the first fully computer-generated film to win an Oscar. Although you won’t find Woody or Buzz, it’s fascinating to observe the seeds for what would come later. YouTube‘Snow White’ was honored by the Oscars two years in a row“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was not only Hollywood’s first full-length animated film—it was also Disney’s first massive hit and, at the time, was the highest-grossing film of all time. The Academy Awards honored the film in 1937 with a nomination for best music, though the film didn’t win the award. The following year, the Academy explicitly acknowledged the film’s unprecedented success with a one-of-a-kind award, a rarity in the Academy’s storied history. ScreenrantMarlon Brando sent Apache and Yaqui actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his OscarEach year at the Academy Awards, winners of the highest achievements in film give speeches expressing their gratitude, while also venturing into politics, humor, and emotion. Some speeches are met with boos, including Littlefeather's message from Brando refusing the award in protest of Hollywood’s treatment and portrayal of Native Americans in film. Others have remained memorable for their brevity, like Joe Pesci's six-word acceptance. TIMESteven Spielberg purchased Oscars won by Clark Gable and Bette Davis and donated them back to the AcademySince 1951, all Oscar statuettes have been awarded with a caveat—if the recipient wants to sell their Oscar, they have to first offer it back to the Academy for the price of $1. As a result, there's now a black market for the golden knights. Some buyers are anonymous movie buffs, but some are the stars themselves. The GuardianSee data measuring the emotional range of Meryl StreepWith nearly a century's worth of ceremonies and winners, the Academy Awards has plenty of data to be mined. Explore the career of the most-nominated-actor-ever, Meryl Streep, as well as data related to how Oscars impact film profits, and how winners express gratitude in their speeches. Flowing DataOscar snubs and losses can generate controversyComedian Bruce Vilanch's podcast "The Oscars: What Were They Thinking?" takes listeners behind the scenes at the Academy Awards to get the inside scoop on everything from the nominating process to the celebrity spats backstage. For example, "This One Hurts!" is about the 2010 Oscars battle for best picture between "The Hurt Locker" (directed by Kathryn Bigelow) and "Avatar" (directed by James Cameron, her ex-husband). The Oscars: What Were They Thinking?Two individuals are credited with making the Oscars red carpet a destination for fashionMuch like the Met Gala, fashion is now an inextricable part of the Academy Awards. But it wasn't always that way. In the 1950s and '60s, costume designer Edith Head was responsible for making sure the stars looked their best on television. In the 1990s, Fred Hayman brought luxury back to the stage after the excess of the 1970s and 1980s. (Some users may experience a paywall.) Fast CompanyThere are several theories for how the Oscar got its nameSeveral different people claim to have bestowed the famous nickname, including a librarian who thought the knight resembled her uncle Oscar and a gossip columnist who was poking fun at a local theater owner. CBS NewsNew Oscar categories continue to be addedWe all know about best picture and best actress, but the Academy Awards also honor people in lesser-known Hollywood roles, such as sound mixers and production designers. In 2026, for the first time in more than two decades, a new category will be added: an Oscar for achievement in casting. Smithsonian MagazineThe Oscar statue was created in 1927The statue of the golden knight that Academy Award winners receive (aka the Oscar) might be nearly as recognizable as the winners themselves. Oscar was born when art director Cedric Gibbons sketched him out and handed him over to sculptor George Stanley to bring to life. Architectural DigestEach Nobel committee sends nomination requests to 3,000 leading academics annuallyEach Nobel selection committee consults with experts to create a shortlist of finalists from the hundreds of nominations, which is then sent to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The literature and peace awards also involve nominations from "qualified persons," such as university professors. HowStuffWorks
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