Things you never knew about the Oscars

By Hannah Haver, Staff Writer

The spring has always been important to many T.V and movie lovers, it’s when the Academy Awards, more commonly known as the Oscars, is held. This award ceremony rewards not only actors, but also some producers, as well as music artists. This year the Oscars celebrated its 87th year. The Oscars is a prestigious event that requires continual time and effort in order to produce a successful show. Here are some interesting facts about it.

One thing most people do not know is that the statuette itself does not belong to the recipient. When an actor receives an award many people assume that it now belongs to them, when really the recipient must follow a set of rules regarding it. Recipients are not allowed to sell their award without first asking the academy if they wish to buy it. If they do in fact wish to, they must then sell it back for the high price of 1$.

Next, there are around 6000 voting academy members. There is a vast amount of possible recipients, therefore the panel is large.

Actors nominate actors and Directors nominate Directors. This is beneficial because it not only gives this group of people a chance to respectfully nominate their co-workers, but it also reflects upon how they view each other.

The final ballets are mailed in late January and often aren’t tallied until the week before the big event.

Only two people know the results before the ceremony. This allows the element of surprise to be in affect but also makes the show more exciting. If the actors knew they were receiving an award beforehand the show would become staged and less appealing.

Seat fillers are hired so that the room always appears to be filled. These seat fillers on average will receive around $125. This gives celebrities a break from the event but also allows the fillers to receive some extra cash.

Guests often consume a large amount of food. About 1000 lobsters, 39 pounds of Caviar, 1200 bottles of champagne, 1200 Oysters, and 4000 chocolate Oscar statuettes are eaten by celebrities.

The first Oscars were held in 1929 and lasted a whopping 15 minutes. This brief meet up was not filmed either.

The name ‘Oscar’ is rumored to have been started by an Academy librarian. The woman claimed that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar, thus forming the nickname. It was officially adopted in 1939.