LET’S GO FOR THE OSCARS!

Tonight is the night! The best actors and actresses in the world wear glamour clothes, they parade on the red carpet and they live an unforgettable night. This year the Oscars’ night is on 26 th February in the Dolby Theatre of Los Angeles. The presenter of the evening will be Jimmy Kimmel, on his first show at the Oscars.

To know more about the nominations of this year CLICK HERE

The History of the Oscar

The first Oscar was given on May 16, 1929 at Hollywood. This award was a statuette in gold and it is tall 35 cm but in the Second World War, this statuette was in plaster because people were afraid that someone would steal it.

Do you know everything about the Oscar? Here there are 10 curious facts that (maybe) you do not know!

1. WHY IS IT CALLED OSCAR?

The Oscar is one of the most important prize for the cinema and everyone knows it, but they do not know why it is called this way. The legend tells this name was born in 1931 when, during the ceremony, Margaret Herrik screamed: “It looked just like my uncle Oscar”

Best Movie - Nominees 2017

2. THE INFAMOUS GIFT BAG

Do you know that the winners not only receive the statuette after their victory? They receive the infamous gift bag: it is a bag with gifts for a value of thousands of dollars. This series of gifts are sent by companies to winners. The Academy does not like this initiative; in fact, it has hired lawyers to stop the practice. Last year the gift bag was worth approximately 200,000 euros and among the prizes, there were stays in hotels, travels, custom horoscopes, cosmetics and toilet paper worth $ 1,200. I’m looking forward to knowing this year’s gifts.


3. AN ACT OF PROTEST

When Marlon Brando won the Oscar as best actor for “The Godfather” in 1973, he refused to withdraw the award and sent the Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather to take it. She explained that Brando was absent because he did not like the way Native Americans were portrayed in the movies. It was a strong act. After that day, the film industry began to change the way they represented the Native Americans. He was the second person in the history of the Oscars to refuse the award. The first one was Dudley Nichols for the best screenplay in 1935.

Best Actress - Nominees 2017

4. UP WITH ITALY!

The foreign country that has won more Academy Awards for best foreign film is Italy. From the first win with “Shoeshine” by Vittorio de Sica (1948) to “The Great Beauty” by Paolo Sorrentino (2014), our country has been awarded so far as many as 14 statuettes. However, this is not the only goal of which we can be proud: three Italian actors won the award for best actor/actress and they are Anna Magnani in 1955, Sofia Loren in 1962 and Roberto Benigni 1999. In these moments, you can feel truly patriotic!


5. MOVIES THAT WON ELEVEN OSCARS!

The films that we are going to list hold the lead because they are the most prized movies ever, with eleven Oscars! The first one is James Cameron’s masterpiece, a movie that made us cry more than any other film ever. We are talking about Titanic. It doesn’t need any comment, there are no words to describe it! Among the Oscars it won, there wasn’t a prize for Leonardo Di Caprio as Best Actor, what a shame! After all he is “the king of the world!”. Now Ben-Hur. It’s about a Jewish prince who, sent into slavery by a friend, tries to take revenge. Ben-Hur has made Hollywood history more than once. Finally, The Lord of the Ring -The return of the king. It’s about the last of Frodo’s adventures, supported by his fellowship, against Lord Sauron. It won all 11 categories for which it was nominated.

Best Actor - Nominees 2017

6. KATHARINE HEPBURN

She is the actress who won more Oscars than anyone else. She won four Academy Awards and a total of twelve nominations for Best actress, a number surpassed only by Meryl Streep, undoubtedly the women rule Hollywood! Curiously Katherine was never present at the ceremonies to receive the awards. She was classified by The American Film Institute as the best American actress of all time in 1999.


7. RECORD NOMINATIONS FOR BEST ACTRESS AND ACTOR
Meryl Streep has been nominated 18 times, she is the queen of the ceremony up to now. She won three Oscars…will she succeed in winning her fourth Oscar at the next ceremony? If this was the case, Katherine Hepburn should share the podium with her! If Meryl Streep is the queen, Jack Nicholson is the King! He has been nominated 12 times and he won three Statuettes. Good job Joker, Batman is proud of you! His first Oscar came for his role as a mental patient in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.


8. HAS ANYONE SEEN MY OSCAR?

According to “Mental Floss” there are many actors who have lost their Oscars after winning. Among them there are Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges, Marlon Brando and Angelina Jolie.

9. CHILDREN WHO WON OSCARS!

Many young actors have been nominated for Oscars. The youngest one was Justin Henry when he was just 8 years old for the best supporting actor. Instead, the first young actor nominated for Best Actor was Jackie Cooper in 1931. The youngest actress was Anevenozhamè Wallis. We can’t forget Shirley Temple who got her Oscar when she was 6.


10. AND THE LOSER IS…

Kevin O’Connell holds the record for most Oscars nominations without winng. What a disappointment! We talked about Leonardo Di Caprio but Kevin O’Connell is not a man to be trifled with! There are some movies that have been nominated many times without winning. “The turning point”, “The color Purple” and “Gangs Of New York” had 11 nominations but no Oscars, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, what were you up to?

Enjoy the Oscars’ Night!!!

Chiara, Federica, Ludovica & Sofia