Academy Award informally known as Oscars

Academy Award (Oscar)

An Academy Award statuette

The Academy Award (informally know as the Oscar) is an accolade by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent award ceremonies in the world and is televised live in more than 200 countries annually. It is also the oldest award ceremony in the media; its equivalent, The Grammy Awards (For music), Emmy Awards (For television), and Tony Awards (For Theatre) are modeled after the academy. The AMPAS itself was conceived by Metro Goldwyn Mayer studio boss Louis B Mayer.

The 1^st Academy Awards ceremony was held May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film achievements of the 1927-1928 film seasons. It was hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C de Mille. The 82^nd Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film for 2009, was held on March 7, 2010 at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood with actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosting the ceremony.

History:

The first awards were presented on May 16, 1929 at a private brunch at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post Awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel. The cost of guest tickets for that night’s ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other personalities of the filmmaking industry of the time for their works during the 1927-28 periods.

The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performance in The Last Command and the Way of All Flesh. He had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give the prize earlier; this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. The honored professionals were awarded for all the work done in certain category for the qualifying period; for example, Emil Jannings received the award for two movies in which he started during that period. Since the fourth ceremony, the system changed, and the Professionals were honored for a specific performance in a single film. As of the 82^nd Academy ceremony held in 2010, a total of 2,789 Oscars have been given for 1.825 awards. A total of 302 actors have won Oscars in competitive acting categories or been awarded Honorary or Juvenile Awards.

At the 29^th ceremony, held on March 27, 1957, the Best Foreign Language Film category was introduced; until then, foreign language were honored with the Special Achievement Award.