The ever-prestigious recognition in the entertainment industry, ‘The Oscars’ is celebrated as the most honorary award for the finest artistic and technical works in the cinema field. The Academy Awards, widely known as Oscars, treasures the talents in the global film industry by rewarding them ‘the Oscar statuette’, which is considered the best piece of recognition globally.
As alluring as it sounds, the award show and results creates sensation each time when it’s announced. But did you know that the Oscar statuette, eagerly perceived every year since 1929, is only worth a dollar?
Yeah, the Oscar Award is actually worth $1. And here you will get to know the reason why it is, along with the top 10 facts on Oscar Awards, interesting and surprising enough.
10 Facts on Oscar Awards
Oscar Statuette is worth only $1
The Oscar Statuette reaching the hands of great artists and technicians has a face value of only $1 / ₹82. This is because the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences strictly regulates the awardees to not sell or trade or dispose the statuette without first offering it back to the Academy for a single dollar.
A California judge in accordance, forbade Oscar winners or their heirs from putting the statuettes up for sale, declaring that they “were never intended to be handled as an article of trade.” Refusing the regulation pushes them to not keep any of them.
Oscars sold in Auction
The $1 return regulation was enacted on 1950 and the trophies awarded before 1950 didn’t have such regulation, which did permitted the awardees to sell them on auction or trade.
In 1992, Harold Russell consigned his 1946 Oscar to auction for raising money for his wife’s medical expenses. The Oscar was sold for $60,500 ($116,800 today).
Then in 2011, Orson Welles’ 1941 Oscar was put up on auction by his heirs, which earned $861,542 ($1,037,800 today).
Oscar statuette costs $400 to make
The phenomenal statuette is currently been produced by Polish Tallix Fine Art Foundry, a factory in Rock Tavern, New York since 2016. The making of the award takes a span of three months, starting with digital Oscar, made using a 3D printer.
It is cast, moulded of pure bronze and polished and then electroplated in 24-karat gold by Epner Technology. 50 statuettes are produced each year, though the awards are only given in 24 categories, for in case of a tie or multiple winners in any of the categories.
Each trophy reportedly costs around $400 to produce.
The Oscar Award is heavy
Casting and making of the statuette makes it heavy weighing 3.9 kilogram.
Walt Disney – Most Nominated
The overall record for the most Oscar nominations is held by Walt Disney with 64 nominations widely for different categories. Walt Disney took home 26 Oscar Awards in his lifetime. Walt Disney indeed holds the Guinness World Records for the most number of Oscar Nominations.
Most Nominated Movies – Titanic, La La Land
The iconic James Cameron’s Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and La La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone takes the credit of being the only films with most nominations – 14. Titanic backed 11 wins and La La Land won 6 awards.
Longest Honorary Standing Ovation – Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin, the evergreen comic actor in the Hollywood received a 12-minute-long standing ovation by all the members present in the concert during his win in 1972.
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Oscar was named Oscar in 1939
Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, that birthed in 1929, the statuette was then called as “Oscar” in 1939.
The origin of the name “Oscar” not clearly known, yet the most popular belief prevailing explains that on seeing the trophy for first time, Academy’s Executive Director Margaret Herrick, who was once a librarian remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar, and the name reverberated. Later Academy officially adopted the name in 1939.
Woman with Most Oscars – Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn is the only woman with four Oscars for Best Actress, scooping in 1933, 1967, 1968, and 1981 for ‘Morning Glory’, ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’, ‘The Lion in Winter’ and ‘On Golden Pond’.
Inside the Oscar Goodie Bag
The Academy proffers a Goodie bag for each of the Oscar Nominees every year that comprises of overwhelming gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This year (2023), the Oscar bag carried gifts worth a whopping $126,000 (₹1.03 Crores). Here’s what the bag has..
Holding over 60 items, the bag includes gifts ranging from $16 pretzel package to a $40,000 getaway to a Canadian estate called The Lifestyle. There’s a pass for the stay for eight people in a restored Italian lighthouse and a ‘symbolic souvenir’ piece of land in Queensland, Australia.
The bag also has $25,000 worth project management fees for home restoration from Maison Construction, and skincare products from Miage, a travel pillow from PETA, products from Ariadne Athens Skin Wellness and more and more. $13.56 pack of Clif Thins and an $18 loaf of Japanese milk bread from Ginza Nishikawa are the least expensive gifts in the bag.
Apart from nominees, hosts too get these gift bag.
Hope this was interesting for you..
(For more such interesting informational, technology and innovation stuffs, keep reading The Inner Detail).