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The first Academy Awards were held in Hollywood in 1929. On March 19, 1953, Americans and Canadians saw the Academy Awards on television for the first time. Bob Hope hosted the Academy Awards in 1939, when “Gone With the Wind” won for Best Picture. He hosted the Academy Awards the most times – eighteen.
The Academy Awards are often called the “Oscars”. There are many stories about the name “Oscars”. The most popular story is that in 1931, Margaret Herrick, who worked as a librarian at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar. After that, people started to call the “Academy Awards” the “Oscars”.
People all over the world watched the 84th Academy Awards on February 26, 2012 at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. This was Billy Crystal’s ninth time hosting the Academy Awards. He opened the show by acting in scenes from several fabulous movies.
Before the show, many people like to predict who will win. These were some predictions before the show in 2012, and these were the real winners:
|
Category |
Prediction |
Real Winners |
|
Best Actress |
Viola Davis, “The Help” |
Meryl Streep, “Iron Lady” |
|
Best Actor |
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball” |
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist” |
|
Best Foreign Language Film |
“A Separation”, Iran |
“A Separation”, Iran |
|
Best Picture |
“The Artist” |
“The Artist” |
Interesting Oscar Facts
-Meryl Streep was nominated seventeen times. This is her third Oscar win.
-The youngest actress to win was ten-year-old Tatum O’Neal for “Paper Moon”. Christopher Plummer is the oldest at 82 years old.
-Pakistani film wins for best short documentary.
Oscar Firsts:
-Jean Dujardin was the first French man to win Best Actor.
-“The Artist” is the only silent movie to become Best Picture since the first Oscar ceremony 83 years ago.
Speeches:
The acceptance speeches are often very emotional. When Christopher Plummer won for Best Supporting Actor, he said, “I would happily share this award if I had any decency, but I don’t.”