Continue on TOI App

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Last updated on - Feb 24, 2019, 14:49 IST

1/6

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Oscar winners upon being presented with their award, must sign an agreement stating that if they wish to sell their statuettes they must first offer them to the Academy for $1. If they refuse, they cannot keep their trophy. The rule has been in effect since 1950, which means that older statues do sometimes appear on the open market. Interestingly, Steven Speielberg bought Bette Davis’ Oscar for $578,000 in 2001 and donated it back to the Academy and Michael Jackson paid over a million for David Selznick’s award in 1999. Steven Spielberg also bought Clark Gable's 1934 Best Actor Oscar for 'It Happened One Night', for the bargain price of $550,000 in 1996.

2/6

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

If a film is to be considered for an Oscar nomination, it must meet several criterias. It must be 40 minutes long; on 35mm or 70mm film, or 24- or 48-frame progressive scan Digital Cinema format at a minimum resolution of 2048 by 1080 pixels and must be screened for paid admission in Los Angeles for at least seven days. This was the reason Charlie Chaplin’s Limelight, which was produced in 1952, won an Oscar in 1972, only after it played in Los Angeles.

3/6

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

The only sequel to ever win a Best Picture Oscar was The Godfather II in 1974. Peter Jackson could be about to follow suit with his spectacular sequel to Lord Of The Rings, The Two Towers. Also, The only Academy Award winner who won but was never officially nominated was Hal Mohr for Best Cinematography for A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). Mohr was the first and only person to win via a write-in vote.

4/6

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

The Oscar statuette, which stands at 13 1/2 inches tall and weighs 8 1/2 pounds are gold-plated metal ones.The Oscar statue is one of the most recognized trophies in the world that has existed since 1929. Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. The statuette is made of tin, copper and antimony, with a thick covering of 24 carat gold. However, During World War II, Oscar winners were presented with statues made from plaster instead of gold, in public recognition of the war effort.

5/6

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

The Dolby Theatre was formerly known as the Kodak Theatre and has temporarily been renamed the Hollywood and Highland Center Theatre. It has been the most recent home of the Oscars and seats 3,332 people. But the interesting fact is that many actors and people from Hollywood do not make it to the actual event. People are allegedly invited to fill the seats for which they are paid $125 to fill up the auditorium. The theater has hosted the Academy Awards ceremonies and is the first permanent home for these annual awards ceremonies.

6/6

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

The unluckiest person in Oscar history is Kevin O’Connell, a sound re-recording engineer. Despite 20 nominations since his work on 1983′s Terms of Endearment, O’Connell has yet to win a single statue. O’Connell’s last nomination came in 2007 for his work on Transformers. One of the stranger recipients of an Oscar was the British Ministry of Information for their 1941 docudrama Target for Tonight. Not everyday a country’s wartime propaganda organ wins a major award!

Start a Conversation

Post comment

Featured In Entertainment

Photostories

Explore more Stories

Up Next

Your Privacy is Important to us

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

Follow Us On

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Weird and shocking facts about the Oscars!

Start a Conversation