Academy Awards 2024 – History, Evolution, and Other Details of Oscars

Cinema, like any other form of art, deserves recognition. The countless hours of meticulous acting, direction, story writing, costume, and makeup design along with every other aspect that goes into film-making, find a place to get adjudged for their honor at the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, officially since 2013. Presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscars have remained in existence since May 16, 1929. And as March 10, 2024, rolls around, the award ceremony will host its 96th edition at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

However, how did the Academy Awards happen to reach a stature as revered as today? As the next chapter of the film industry’s top honor unfolds, a run-down through history provides a deep context behind the importance, firsts, and even refusals of the Oscars.

History and Evolution of the Oscars

The elegant affairs of today’s Oscars have a rather modest history, with the first ceremony lasting for as little as fifteen minutes. The first Academy Awards took place on May 16, 1929, as a private dinner at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and about 270 audience members. Additionally, artists, directors, and other participants during the 1927–28 period competed for just fifteen statuettes, the results of which had already come out about three months earlier.

A year later, in 1930, the Oscars gained prominence and the results now went to newspapers for publication at 11 PM on the night of the awards. However, in 1941, the Academy started to reveal the name on stage from sealed envelopes, a tradition that persists to this date. The simultaneous announcement on the radio first happened in 1930, hosted by Conrad Nagel. Soon after, Bob Hope hosted the first television broadcast of the Oscars in 1953, and 1966, marked the first time a simulcast in both black-and-white and color happened for the coveted ceremony.

Originally, the eligibility period for the Academy Awards ranged from August 1 to July 31 of the following year. However, in 1934, the rule received a revision, and ever since films released within a calendar year or from January 1 to December 31 in the same year, would queue up for participation. For instance, the 2023 released Argylle by Henry Cavill received mentions in reviews for potential Oscar contention, but it would need to sit out for another year and compete in 2024 owing to its February 2nd, 2024 release date.

In terms of the categories, overhauls have happened reflecting the changes in society. From the initial fifteen, the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories appeared in 1936. Thereafter, additions happened with the Best Animated Feature category in 2001 and the expansion of the Best Picture category from five to ten nominees in 2009, and then to a variable number between five and ten in 2011. Finally, in 2019, the Best Foreign Language Film category renamed itself as the Best International Feature Film.

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Meanwhile, the first Best Actor Oscar went to Emil Jannings, for his performances in the 1928 war flick, The Last Command. Thereafter, the Academy Awards introduced The Best Foreign Language Film category in 1956, as a special award for the best non-English language film released in the United States. Additionally, Federico Fellini’s La Strada, from Italy, became the first recipient of the award and the category then became a regular competitive award ever since 1957.

In 2002, the 74th Academy Awards hosted the Oscars at the Dolby Theater for the first time. In terms of movies, Bong Joon-ho's 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller Parasite made history at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020, becoming the first non-English film to win Best Picture in addition to winning the Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Film Oscars. Despite being the first South Korean film to rise to the ranks of Oscar nominations, the movie seamlessly bagged Best Picture and Best International Film at the Oscars among other awards.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

 Standing as the first large-scale museum dedicated to films and located in the United States, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures houses exhibits and programs that explore the art and science of movies, including past, present, and future films. Additionally, while offering a look behind the scenes of filmmaking, the more than 13 million exhibits dedicated to the history, science, and cultural impact of films, provide a wider sense of acknowledgment of the arts.

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The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures remains under the authority of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Announced on October 18, 2012, during the annual Governors Awards ceremony by Tom Hanks, the museum opened to the public on September 30, 2021. As of 2024, Bill Kramer stands as the director and president of the museum, a role held since 2019. Additionally, his duties involve overseeing the artistic and cultural direction, operations, and management of the museum, supported by a team of staff, trustees, advisors, and donors.

Important Details About Oscar Statuette - Name And Cost

The Academy Award remains a distinctive work of art and throughout the decades has made itself synonymous with movie culture as well as instantly recognizable for its distinguishable traits. The Oscar statuette features a knight in the Art déco style, holding a crusader’s sword. Additionally, the film reel on which stands has five spokes representing actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers, the original branches of the Academy.

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Designed by Cedric Gibbons, the chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and sculpted by George Stanley, the Oscar statuette stands forged of bronze, plated with 24-karat gold, and stands 13.5 inches tall and 8.5 pounds in weight. Originally, Stanley used clay to sculpt an initial figure before in clay before casting it in plaster. Thereafter, the plaster model lay cast in bronze using the lost-wax technique in Batavia and electroplated with the finest copper, nickel silver, and finally gold. Similarly, the Oscar statuette’s base went from being made of Belgian black marble to metal, wood, and now, plastic.

World War II had the Academy made a sharp departure from its techniques of making an Oscar statute. Instead of bronze and gold, painted plaster came into use. The prime reason stood for a shortage of metals during the time with the government rationing their usage. Fortunately, after the war, the recipients of the plastered and fragile Oscars could swap them for the usual ones from the Academy.

Prominently known as the Academy Awards, the usage of the term ‘Oscar’ as well as its mainstream association remains disputed. Furthermore, several varying tales also revolve around its origin, starting from Margaret Herrick, the Academy librarian, and later executive director, whose remarks that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar remains one of the first pitched origins, as early as 1931. Thereafter, Bette Davis, the actress and Academy president, claimed to have named the statuette after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson, whose middle name remained engraved on the back of her statuette when she won one in 1936.

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Then again, a columnist and Academy member, Sidney Skolsky, reportedly used the term “Oscar” in an article about the 1934 awards claiming to have borrowed it from an old vaudeville joke. Finally, Walt Disney thanked the Academy while using the term “Oscar” after winning it in 1932. However, many claim that his reference alluded to “Oskar”, a term for the Harmon trophy for aviation.

The Oscars hold a special place not only for the Academy but for the entirety of Hollywood and the film industry as a whole. Yet, some winners or their heirs sold their Oscar statuettes, resulting in their commercialization and devaluation. In 1971, Orson Welles’ 1941 Oscar for Citizen Kane ended up being sold by a cinematographer. Likewise, Harold Russell sold his trophy for The Best Years of Our Lives for $60,500 to help pay for his wife’s medical bills.

In 1992, Bette Davis’ daughter sold his Oscar for Jezebel for $578,000. Thereafter, in 1993, a shocker followed when Michael Todd’s statuette for Around the World in 80 Days got stolen. Many more lost cases with Clark Gable’s prize for It Happened One Night and Olivia de Havilland’s for To Each His Own came forward as sold by their heirs. Fortunately, while the Academy managed to recover some, Steven Spielberg bought many and donated them back to the former.

The Academy’s dissuasion could not stop Harrold Russell from selling his Oscar as he had won the award before 1950. However, in many other cases, the Academy has enforced its statuette contract in specific instances by suing or threatening to sue the sellers or buyers of the Oscar statuettes, and by seeking injunctions or damages.

Nominations Process for the Academy Awards

The announcement of the Academy Award nominations followed a similar transition to the announcement of its winners. For the first-ever ceremony, no nominees received a public disclosure. However, ever since 1941, when the practice of sealed envelopes started to take shape, the nominees went public in an announcement about a few weeks before, usually in January or February. Moreover, while the announcement period has remained largely the same, the process has evolved from press releases to now live-streamed events.

As last revised in 2022, approximately 10,000 members comprise the voting strength of the Academy. Additionally, they stand divided into 18 branches representing various fields of film production and craft. Far up from the initial five branches recognized by the Academy, there lie about 18 different branches of its membership, each with its percentage share in voting with actors taking the highest share at 23.7% followed by directors at 8.9% and producers at 8.4%.

Thereafter, casting directors make up 1.4%, cinematographers lie at 4.1%, costume designers at 2.2%, documentary at 4.1%, executives at 3.1%, and film editors at 5.1%. Finally, the other shares get divided on the pie chart with makeup artists and hairstylists at 1.7%, marketing, and public relations at 2.6%, music at 3.9%, production design at 3.5%, short films, and feature animation at 4.6%, sound at4.4%, visual effects at 4.5%, writers at 6.8%, and concluded by members-at-large holding a 6.9% voting share.

Moving over to a film’s eligibility to compete for the Academy Awards, it must meet the set eligibility criteria. Only feature length, defined as having a running time of more than 40 minutes, qualifies. Additionally, a theatrical release in a 35mm or 70mm film, or any qualifying digital form in Los Angeles County, California, for at least seven consecutive days with at least three daily screenings and at least one between 6 and 10 PM daily remains mandatory.

Thereafter, a 16mm, 35mm, or 70mm film, or a qualifying digital format, must enter for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theater in either New York City or Los Angeles County, for a run of at least seven consecutive days. Finally, no broadcast or transmission by any nontheatrical medium before its Los Angeles County qualifying run, such as television, streaming, or video on demand, should have happened before its release to enable its submission to the Academy on or before the deadline.

Yet, for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, it must comply with all the aforementioned eligibility guidelines along with its nature being a documentary, defined as a nonfiction motion picture dealing creatively with cultural, artistic, historical, social, scientific, economic, or other subjects of feature-length or more than 40 minutes run-time. However, in 2018, the Academy announced that multi-part and limited series would no longer be eligible for the Best Documentary Feature award.

Academy Screening Room

“Do not judge a book by its cover”, goes the notion and the Academy too does not let a movie go to the winning stage without thorough inspections. To serve as a chamber for reviewing and discussing the finer details of a movie, The Academy Screening Room came into existence. It came into existence in 2016 for documentary, international, and short films before expanding in 2019 to include all feature films.

Incidentally, the Academy Screening Room works much like any home device with access to streaming services such as Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and desktop browsers. Additionally, it provides the reviewers with all the required information and trailers for the films, as well as the option to rate and comment on them. The cost for North American distributors to include a film in the Academy Screening Room varies from $12,500 for one documentary feature to $100,000 for ten or more feature films.

The Academy reformed its Screening Room in 2022 with a slew of changes. First off, it discontinued the use of DVD screeners, requiring all films to be made available digitally. For the 2022 Oscars, keeping in view the effects of the pandemic, The Academy waived the theatrical release requirement and allowed the entry of streaming or video-on-demand released productions. As for permanent changes, it increased the number of screenings for the documentary feature and short film categories.

Academy Awards Ceremonies and Telecast

Standing out as one of the most respected ceremonies in the film industry, the major Oscar categories receive a live televised Hollywood ceremony, typically held in February or March. The presentation goes typically underway at the Dolby Theatre. A red carpet featuring most of the nominees as well as some of the biggest names across and beyond Hollywood, outlines the preparations. Additionally, a main host such as Jimmy Kimmel for the 2024 Oscars, oversees and announces the musical performances, comedy sketches, tributes, and montages.

A key highlight comes in the showcase for the latest fashion on the red carpet, where they showcase their outfits, accessories, and hairstyles. Some of the most memorable and iconic looks of the Oscars history include Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy dress in 1954, Cher’s Bob Mackie ensemble in 1986, Halle Berry’s Elie Saab gown in 2002, and Billy Porter’s Christian Siriano tuxedo gown in 2019.

The Academy Awards have come a long way from the print publication method or even the radio announcement features of their early days. Since their television telecast debut in 1953, the Oscars have received varying viewership across the decades, with nominations, attendees, and skits garnering attention and factoring as the prime reasons for boosting up numbers.

The highest Oscar viewership happened in 1998, when 57.25 million people watched the ceremony, which featured James Cameron’s Titanic as the winner of 11 awards, including Best Picture. Incidentally, the lowest viewership came in 2021, with a mere 9.85 million people in attendance. While the decline came across as attributed to the pandemic-induced lack of global releases, big contenders and winners at other events such as Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie stand set for a remarkable showdown in 2024.

Academy Awards Archive and Venues

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a dedicated library, film archive, oral history project, and museum to preserve and exhibit the documents, photographs, audiovisuals, artifacts, and memorabilia of the Oscars and the film industry. Additionally, other institutions also partner with the Academy to ensure the accessibility and availability of the Oscar archives for the public and researchers.

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Except for 2021, when the pandemic made the Academy hold the Oscars at the Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, it has revolved around venues across Los Angeles and New York, reflecting the changes and developments in the film industry and society. With the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel hosting the first Academy Awards in 1927, the Ambassador Hotel and the Biltmore Hotel served as alternating hosts in the 1930s and 1940s.

For a brief period, the Oscars went to the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in 1944. Thereafter, it also held its first bicoastal broadcast in 1953, at the NBC International Theatre in New York and the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Eventually, the ceremony moved to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in the 1960s followed by the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in the 1970s and 1980s, and the Shrine Auditorium in the 1980s and 1990s. However, since 2002, the Oscars have called the Dolby Theatre their home.

Whisper Campaigns during Oscar Season

Shrouded in speculation and mystery, a whisper campaign comes across as a strategy of spreading negative or false information about a rival film or achievement, to undermine its chances of winning an Oscar by influencing the voters’ opinions and preferences. Additionally, word on the air has its usage peak during the Oscar season, which is the period between the release of the eligible films and the announcement of the winners, usually from September to February.

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Although a subject of intense debate and speculation, Oscar whisper campaigns reigned supreme during the chances of films such as 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty. Notably, the 2012 flick had several politicians and activists accusing it of justifying and glorifying torture, and of being inaccurate and misleading. Despite the film’s director, Kathryn Bigelow, and screenwriter, Mark Boal, defending their artistic choices and denying any wrongdoing, it won only one Oscar, for Best Sound Editing irrespective of its five-strong nominations.

2022 Chris Rock and Will Smith Slapping Incident

Will Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard at the 94th Academy Awards but took home a bunch of scrutiny following his walking up to the stage and slapping Chris Rock. The knee-jerk reaction happened when the comedian joked about the star’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who had shaved her head due to alopecia, comparing her to Demi Moore’s character in G.I. Jane.

After a visibly annoyed Pinkett Smith looked in disapproval, the Men In Black actor slapped Rock while mouthing back at him. Rock briefly responded before continuing with his presentation. Although in his acceptance speech, Will Smith apologized to the Academy and the other nominees, he did not do the same to Rock, instead issuing a formal apology through social media when the damage had taken a dent in his public image.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences condemned Smith’s behavior as unacceptable and disrespectful and demanded his resignation from the Academy membership. Smith complied and resigned on April 1, 2022, for having “betrayed the trust of the Academy”, receiving a ban of ten years from events including future Oscar ceremonies.

Refusals of the Academy Award

The honor and respect of winning an Oscar stands well prominent, but at times, refusals have found even greater interest. Over the history of the Academy Awards, a few individuals have resorted to the measure, highlighting certain issues. Dudley Nichols became the first person to boycott the Oscars ceremony and reject his award in 1935 despite winning the Best Writing (Screenplay) award for The Informer. The reason came forth as solidarity with the Screen Writers’ Guild, which was on strike against the film studios.

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Similarly, George C. Scott rejected his Best Actor Oscar for his role in Patton in 1970. He highlighted the competitive nature of the awards refusing to attend the ceremony, and later also rejected his previous nominations for Anatomy of a Murder and The Hustler. Finally, Marlon Brando made history as the first person to send someone else to reject his Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather, in person, in 1973.

With their fair share of history, honor, controversy, and relevance, the Oscars still stand as the highest honor for film-making, and with the 2024 Academy Awards right around the corner, who knows what surprise it might hold?