Academy Awards
Every February Oscar Fever hits the entertainment community and film fans around the world. Hundreds of millions of cinema lovers glue themselves to their television sets to learn who will receive the golden statuettes. After more than seven decades of recognizing excellence in film-making achievement, the presentation of the Oscars has become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' most famous activity.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary organization of over 6,000 motion picture professionals, was founded to
advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures
foster cooperation among creative leaders for cultural, educational and technologic progress;
recognize outstanding achievements;
cooperate on technical research and improvement of methods and equipment;
provide a common forum and meeting ground for various branches and craft;
represent the viewpoint of actual creators of the motion picture;
foster educational activities between the professional community and the public-at-large.
The Academy Awards
The Oscars! Every January, when the calendar has turned to a new year, the*attention of the entertainment community and of film fans around the world turns to the upcoming Academy Awards. After three-quarters of a century of recognizing excellence in cinema achievement, the annual presentation of the Oscars has become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' most famous activity. The Academy Awards Presentation is also the activity that enables the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to maintain its varied year-round calendar of programs and events and a wide- ranging educational and cultural agenda.
History of the Academy Awards
When the first Academy Awards were handed out on May 16, 1929, movies had just begun to talk. That first Awards ceremony took place during a banquet held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The attendance was more than 270 and tickets for members were no charge and guests cost $ 5.
The suspense which now touches most of the world at Oscar time was not always a characteristic of the Awards. At first the winners were known prior to the Awards banquets. Results were given in advance to the newspapers for publication at 11 p.m. on the night of the Awards. But in 1940, guests arriving for the affair could buy the 8:45 p.m. edition of the Los Angeles Times, which announced the winning achievements. As a result, the sealed-envelope system was adopted the next year and remains in use today.
Since the earliest years, interest in the Academy Awards has run high, if not at the modern fever- pitch. The first presentation was the only one to escape a media audience, but by the second year enthusiasm for the Awards was so high that a Los Angeles radio station actually did a live, one-hour broadcast. The Awards have had broadcast coverage since.
For 15 years the Academy Awards Presentations were banquet affairs held, after the first in the Blossom Room. The custom of presenting the statuettes at a banquet was discontinued after 1942. Increased attendance and the war had made banquets impractical, and the presentation ceremonies have since been held in theaters.
In 1966, the Oscars were first broadcast in color. From 1971 through 1975 the NBC-TV network carried the Awards. ABC has telecast the show since 1976 and is under contract through 2008. On April 14, 1969, the 41st Academy Awards ceremonies moved to the brand new Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center of Los Angeles County. It was the first major event for this world-renowned cultural center.
The Awards remained at the Music

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