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Oscars
John Travolta has issued a statement about mispronouncing Idina Menzel’s name at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday.
John Travolta said: “I’ve been beating myself up all day. Then I thought… what would Idina Menzel say?
“She’d say, <<Let it go, let it go!>> Idina is incredibly talented and I am so happy Frozen took home two Oscars Sunday night!”
John Travolta was referring to the award-winning song Let it Go, which Idina Menzel performed after his mangled introduction.
John Travolta mispronounced Idina Menzel’s name at the Oscars ceremony on Sunday
On Sunday night’s Academy Awards show, John Travolta appeared to welcome Idina Menzel on stage, but seemed to say the name “Adele Dazeem”.
Frozen, which was made by Disney, picked up the awards for best animated film and best original song.
Shortly after John Travolta’s mistake, a Twitter account with the handle @adeladazeem was created and has more than 20,000 followers.
Other sites launched a name generator, in the style of the actor’s error.
Idina Menzel, an accomplished theatre actor, is due to star in a new Broadway musical, If/Then, about a women who moves to New York in search of a new life.
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Ellen DeGeneres took full advantage of Jennifer Lawrence’s repeated inability to stay upright in her opening monologue at Sunday night’s Oscars.
In her second go-round as the master of ceremonies for The Academy, Ellen DeGeneres reminded the audience that Jennifer Lawrence fell as she went to retrieve her award for Best Actress at last year’s Oscars.
“I am not going to bring up what happened last year,” she teased.
Ellen DeGeneres took full advantage of Jennifer Lawrence’s repeated inability to stay upright in her opening monologue at Sunday night’s Oscars
“It’s ridiculous, I mean something like that happens, and it’s embarrassing, and people just talk about it. It’s just, you know… for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, Jennifer Lawrence last year, she fell on the way up, tripped. I don’t know if she got caught on the tip of the dress, but… let’s show the clip.”
She didn’t show it, but she made sure that everyone knew that Jennifer Lawrence was caught slipping again this year.
Other highlights included making fun of June Squibb’s age by intimating that she’s hard of hearing, calling Liza Minnelli “sir” and joking that, if 12 Years a Slave didn’t win best picture, the whole Academy was racist.
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John Travolta made a gaffe during last night’s Oscars ceremony as he took to the stage to introduce Idina Menzel to perform Let It Go ballad from Disney animation Frozen.
After his introduction, John Travolta appeared to name Idina Menzel by a complete different name, welcoming “the talented, the one and only, Adela Dazeem“.
John Travolta made a gaffe during last night’s Oscars ceremony as he took to the stage to introduce Idina Menzel
John Travolta’s new name for Idina Menzel has already inspired its own parody Twitter account, which has been followed by over 11,000 people.
Let It Go went on to win the Best Original Song prize during the ceremony, while Frozen won the award for Best Animated Film.
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Best Supporting Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence took a tumble as she made her way down the Oscar red carpet.
Just like last year during the Academy Awards, Jennifer Lawrence, 23, lost her footing while waving to the crowds assembled at the Dolby Theatre, before grabbing at her entourage for help as she hit the deck.
Jennifer Lawrence took a tumble as she made her way down the Oscar red carpet
The actress was helped up to her feet by boyfriend Nicholas Hoult laughing and joking.
Jennifer Lawrence, nominated this year for Best Supporting Actress for her role in American Hustle, then turned to the applauding crowd and took a bow.
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The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles starting at 8:30 p.m. ET on various networks.
History:
Created as a non-profit organization in 1927, the original Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was made up of 36 producers and film-makers. Led by MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer, its membership included such notables as Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd and Mary Pickford. It now boasts more than 6,000 members, a quarter of them actors.
The first Academy Awards were presented on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people.
No-one could have predicted when the first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 that it would grow to the huge event it is today.
The cost of guest tickets for that night’s ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other personalities of the filmmaking industry of the time for their works during the 1927–1928 periods; the ceremony ran for 15 minutes.
Bleachers:
Fans desperate to see Hollywood’s movers and shakers arriving can do so by sitting on the specially constructed benches erected outside – provided they register at least six months in advance – camping out overnight was banned after 9/11. The lucky 700 selected at random are told to arrive at 07:00 on Oscars day, 10 hours before the fun begins.
Campaigns:
Every year, the studios launch elaborate advertising campaigns to persuade Academy members to nominate their pictures. Eligible voters are bombarded with DVDs known as “screeners”, occasionally accompanied by lavish promotional material. But new rules introduced in 2012 banned members from attending parties organized by film companies after the nominations are announced.
Dolby:
For years, the Oscar oscillated between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center and the Shrine Auditorium near the University of Southern California. From 2002 to 2012, the Oscars were held at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, although in 2012, Kodak ended its sponsorship deal with the Oscars shortly before the event. In May this year, it changed its name to the Dolby Theatre in a new sponsorship deal and the Oscars will continue to be held there for the foreseeable future.
Envelope:
The time-honored practice of opening the golden envelope to reveal the winner’s name is a pivotal part of Oscar lore. It has not always been so though. For the first 10 years, the Academy informed the press ahead of time in order to accommodate their print deadlines. After one newspaper broke the embargo in 1939, the decision was made to keep the results a closely guarded secret.
Fashion:
The Oscars have thrown up more than their fair share of fashion faux pas over the years. Who could forget the bizarre Indian headdress sported by Cher in 1986, or Bjork’s swan gown in 2001, Gwyneth Paltrow was criticized by fashionistas in 2002 for appearing sans bra in a transparent top, as did Celine Dion in 1999 for wearing what appeared to be a back-to-front white jacket.
Goodie bags:
Presenters and performers at this year’s Oscars can be expected to be handsomely rewarded for their trouble with a complimentary gift package thought to be worth up to $100,000. Previous freebies have included such luxury items as mobile phones, high-definition televisions, designer clothes and holiday vouchers.
Honorary Award:
In addition to its competitive prizes, the Academy has a history of presenting special Oscars to ageing stars, industry veterans and well-regarded individuals who have been inexplicably passed over. Recipients include Peter O’Toole, Kirk Douglas and Robert Redford, while regular host Bob Hope was awarded no less than five honorary gongs between 1941 and 1966. The 2013 recipients included Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury and Steve Martin.
The 31st Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1959
In memoriam:
A regular feature of each Oscar telecast is a montage paying tribute to those notables who have died since the last ceremony. A Room With A View screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, visual effects maestro Ray Harryhausen, and actors Peter O’Toole and Joan Fontaine are likely to be among those remembered this year.
Jean Hersholt:
The actor and sometime president of the Academy whose name was attached after his demise in 1956 to an honorary award recognizing individuals “whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry”. Recipients over the years have included Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra and, inevitably, Bob Hope. However, since the mid-1980s, it has been doled out sparingly.
Kathryn Bigelow:
The first woman to win a best director Oscar for The Hurt Locker in 2010. The film also won best picture.
Los Angeles:
The Oscars cause a mighty traffic jam each year as up to 1,200 stretch limousines queue up to disgorge their celebrity cargo. In 1988, the congestion was so bad outside the Shrine Auditorium that presenters and nominees, among them Fatal Attraction‘s Glenn Close, were forced to ditch their cars and jog down the street to make it on time.
Marksmen:
Police snipers are routinely positioned on adjacent rooftops, the area is declared a no-fly zone and all the local manhole covers are welded shut. That said, none of this stopped a pair of pranksters getting through in 2002 with the help of a fake limo pass.
Nominations:
All films must have at least a token US release before December 31 in order to qualify for the following year’s awards, but it isn’t until the nominations are announced some six weeks before the ceremony that the Oscars race can start proper. The nominees are revealed 05:30 LA time by the current Academy president, usually accompanied by a previous recipient.
Oscar:
How the Academy Award of Merit came by its more familiar sobriquet is still a subject for debate, though most people attribute it to Academy librarian Margaret Herrick’s 1931 remark that the award bore a striking resemblance to her uncle. The nickname was in common usage by 1934, but it took another five years for it to be officially adopted.
Presenter:
Bob Hope holds the record here, having hosted the ceremony 19 times over the course of 39 years. Johnny Carson was a fixture in the 1980s before Billy Crystal inherited his mantle. This year chat show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres will host the Oscars for a second time, replacing Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, whose close-to-the-bone stint divided critics last year.
Quips:
Part of the host’s job is to poke fun at the Oscars themselves.
“Two hours of glittering entertainment spread out over four hours” is how Johnny Carson described them, while Billy Crystal likened them to Titanic: “We are huge, we are expensive and everyone wants us to go faster.”
In 2010, Steve Martin deadpanned: “This show was so long that Avatar now takes place in the past.”
Red carpet:
Organizers need 16,000 square feet of the stuff outside the Dolby Theatre for the annual fashion parade that, for many, is the highlight of the Oscar ceremony. The hallowed carpet is lined with seven-foot Oscar statuettes that are each given a new lick of gold paint before the event; some 60,000 flowers are grown especially for the various floral displays.
Speeches:
The record for the longest acceptance speech is held by Greer Garson, who droned on for over five minutes in 1943. John Mills probably made the shortest: in keeping with his Oscar-winning role as a mute simpleton in Ryan’s Daughter, the British actor said nothing at all.
Television:
The awards were televised for the first time in 1953, attracting the largest audience in commercial TV’s five-year history.
But it was not until 1966 that they were broadcast in color, prompting host Bob Hope to quip: “Now we can see the losers turn green.”
In 2005, the ABC network was so worried Chris Rock would swear it imposed a five-second time delay.
Upsets:
There have been more than a few of these over the years. Steven Spielberg was gutted when Shakespeare in Love was named best movie in 1999 ahead of Saving Private Ryan, while even Juliette Binoche was shocked when she beat Lauren Bacall to the best supporting actress gong in 1997.
Vanity Fair:
Most of the winners make a token appearance at the Governor’s Ball before heading off to a swankier bash. And they don’t come more exclusive than the Vanity Fair party hosted by editor Graydon Carter, which for the last few years has taken place at the Sunset Tower Hotel.
War:
During World War II, the Academy replaced its gold-plated statuettes with plaster ones and outlawed formal wear, while concerns over the situation in Iraq were reflected by a toned-down ceremony in 2003.
“You probably noticed there was no red carpet tonight,” said host Steve Martin:
“That’ll send them a message!”
Youngest winner:
Tatum O’Neal holds the record as the youngest Oscar-winner after she was named best supporting actress for Paper Moon at the age of 10. Anna Paquin came close when she picked up the same award for The Piano at 11.
But the youngest Oscar recipient is Shirley Temple, given an honorary award at 6 for “her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment.”
Zero:
The number of awards Steven Spielberg received for The Color Purple after being nominated for a whopping 11 Oscars in 1986 – an ignominious achievement only matched by ballet drama The Turning Point in 1978. In 2011, True Grit bit the dust, failing to win a single prize despite 10 nominations. The same had happened to Gangs of New York in 2003. Richard Harris was nominated seven times without a single win, but the record is held by sound mixer Kevin O’Connell, who has yet to win an Oscar, despite being nominated 20 times.
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The annual Independent Spirit Awards, which honor low budget film-making, take place in a giant tent on Santa Monica beach, one day prior to the Oscars ceremony.
Full list of winners:
Best Feature: 12 Years a Slave
Best Director: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Best Screenplay: John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Best First Feature: Fruitvale Station
Best First Screenplay: Bob Nelson, Nebraska
The annual Independent Spirit Awards honor low budget film-making
John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): This is Martin Bonner
Best Supporting Female: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Best Supporting Male: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Female Lead: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Male Lead: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Altman Award: Mud
Best Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years a Slave
Best Editing: Nat Sanders, Short Term 1
Best International Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
Best Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom
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Lupita Nyong’o won an Independent Spirit award on Saturday for her debut movie role in 12 Years a Slave.
The Kenyan actress told the audience: “Not a bad way to celebrate my birthday.”
Lupita Nyong’o turned 31 a day before the Oscars where she is a front runner for best supporting actress.
12 Years a Slave dominated the Independent Spirit Awards, where it took five prizes.
They included best feature and best director for Steve McQueen.
Lupita Nyong’o won an Independent Spirit award on Saturday for her debut movie role in 12 Years a Slave
Other acting trophies went to Cate Blanchett, for her role in Blue Jasmine, and to Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, for their roles as AIDS patients in Dallas Buyers Club.
All three are favorites to win at the Oscars on Sunday night.
The annual Independent Spirit Awards, which honor low budget film-making, take place in a giant tent on Santa Monica beach.
This year the ceremony was accompanied by strong winds and bursts of heavy rain beating down on the tent.
12 Years a Slave also won awards for screenplay and cinematography.
Fruitvale Station was named best first feature while Nebraska won a best first screenplay award.
The documentary prize went to 20 Feet From Stardom, which shines a spotlight on the world of the backing singers.
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12 Years a Slave won best film with its star Chiwetel Ejiofor winning best actor while Cate Blanchett picked up best actress for Blue Jasmine at the year’s BAFTAs.
Cate Blanchett was not at the ceremony with director David O. Russell accepting the award instead.
David O. Russell was back on stage minutes later to pick up the award for best original screenplay for the 1970s crime drama, about two con artists who get entangled with the FBI.
In the supporting categories, Captain Phillips star Barkhad Abdi won as did Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle.
Gravity has been named best British film.
It was also honored for visual effects, cinematography, best sound and original music. Alfonso Cuaron also won best director.
The Great Gatsby picked up two awards for production design and costume design.
Room 8 was named best short film; the short animation award was won by Sleeping With the Fishes.
The awards are being hosted for a ninth time by actor Stephen Fry.
Best animation went to Frozen, which came out ahead of Monsters University and Despicable Me 2.
12 Years A Slave won two awards from 10 nominations at BAFTAs 2014
The BAFTA for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer went to Kieran Evans for Kelly + Victor, the tale of a young couple embarking on a passionate love affair.
Ron Howard, whose film Rush – about the rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda – won the award for best editing, joked on the red carpet he felt like “a grateful foreign exchange student”.
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope won for their adapted screenplay for the film Philomena, based on the true story of an Irish woman trying to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption.
She may have lost out to Cate Blanchett but Judi Dench set a BAFTA record with her 15th acting nomination but when asked about it on the red carpet, she replied: “I didn’t know until you told me. Thanks for reminding me.”
She added: “It means I’ve been gong for a very, very long time.”
The BAFTAs can be an indicator of which films go on to win Academy Awards two weeks later.
Presenters and guests included Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Irons, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stanley Tucci and Uma Thurman.
The ceremony opened with a duet from Tinie Tempah and Mercury Prize nominee Laura Mvula.
Prince William, the academy’s president, presented Helen Mirren with the British Academy fellowship, its highest accolade.
Previous winners have included Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick.
Peter Greenaway also received the outstanding British contribution to cinema award, presented by Juliet Stevenson.
The winner of the public vote for this year’s Rising Star award was also announced with 21-year-old British actor Will Poulter from We’re the Miller accepting the award.
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The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards have been handed out at a ceremony in Beverly Hills.
The awards honor the men, women and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant, outstanding and lasting ways to motion pictures.
Each year’s honorees are celebrated at a formal dinner held two weeks prior to the Oscar ceremony. The Sci-Tech Awards presentation has become a highlight of the Academy Awards season.
The awards, which are held separately from the Oscars ceremony on March 2, recognize more than 50 of the most creative behind-the-scenes operators.
Joshua Pines, who worked on the film Coraline, was honored for developing image-processing mathematics to standardize color.
He called the evening “this year’s annual Winter Olympics for geeks”.
The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards have been handed out by Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan
The awards were handed out by Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan.
Christopher Nolan, the British director of The Dark Knight, also made a surprise visit later in the evening.
The writer-director accepted the film lab Oscar, and described film processors as alchemists who “(turn) silver and plastic into dreams”.
The Oscar will be on permanent display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles when it opens in 2017.
Twenty-one awards were handed out, the Gordon E. Sawyer Award went to Peter W. Anderson for his contributions to 3D technology.
Award winner Dan Piponi, who was part of the team which pioneered simulating smoke and fire in films such as Avatar and Puss In Boots, said: “Nobody told me if I wanted to get an Academy Award, I should study mathematics.”
On March 2, the technical achievements of films such as Gravity, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness will be celebrated at the full Academy Awards ceremony.
The list of nominations for the 86th Academy Awards have been announced in Los Angeles on by Chris Hemsworth and Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
Best picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best director
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
Best actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Best supporting actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best supporting actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Best animated feature
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest and Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
Best foreign language film
The list of nominations for the 86th Academy Awards have been announced in Los Angeles on by Chris Hemsworth and Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar
Best Film Editing
Gravity
American Hustle
12 Years A Slave
Captain Philips
Dallas Buyers Club
Best Production Design
Gravity
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Behind The Candelabra
The Great Gatsby
Best Costume Design
American Hustle
12 Years A Slave
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
Best Sound Editing
Gravity
Captain Philips
All Is Lost
Rush
Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Visual Effects
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Gravity
Best Animated Short Film
Everything I Can See From Here
I Am Tom Moody
Sleeping With the Fishes
Best Adapted Screenplay
12 Years A Slave
Captain Philips
Philomena
Behind The Candelabra
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Best Cinematography
Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grandmaster, Philippe Le Sourd
Nebraska, Phedon Papamichael
Inside Llewyn Davis, Bruno Delbonnel
Prisoners, Roger A. Deakins
Best Original Screenplay
Gravity
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Nebraska
Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Original Score
Gravity
Philomena
Her
Saving Mr. Banks
The Book Thief
Best Documentary Feature
The Act Of Killing
Cutie And The Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom
Best Documentary Short Subject
Cavedigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days Of Private Jack Hall
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Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Dallas Buyers Club are among the seven films that remain in the running for the Oscar for makeup and hairstyling, the Academy announced on Saturday.
Surprisingly, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Rush and Lee Daniel’s The Butler were left off the shortlist, which also included American Hustle, Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, The Great Gatsby and The Lone Ranger.
The seven-film shortlist was compiled after a vote by members of the Makeup Artists & Hairstylists Branch, who also recommended the specific individuals primarily responsible for the shortlisted work.
Bad Grandpa is making Oscars 2014 makeup shortlist
The 135 members of the branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from the shortlisted films at a bakeoff at the Academys Samuel Goldwyn Theater in January. Members who have seen all seven of the shortlisted films will then be invited to vote, and three nominees will be selected.
Oscars 2014 makeup and hairstyling shortlist:
American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
The Great Gatsby
Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
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Cate Blanchett is tipped as an early frontrunner for this year’s best actress Oscar, following rave reviews for her performance in Blue Jasmine.
Woody Allen’s new film recalls Tennessee Williams’ classic play A Streetcar Named Desire, with Cate Blanchett playing fallen New York socialite, Jasmine.
Cate Blanchett is tipped as an early frontrunner for this year’s best actress Oscar, following rave reviews for her performance in Blue Jasmine
The film follows Jasmine, “a Park Avenue Princess”, whose wealthy husband Hal (Alec Baldwin) winds up in jail as a result of dodgy business practices.
Falling on hard times, Jasmine moves in with her adopted sister, Ginger, who lives in a humble apartment in San Francisco. Depressed and addicted to alcohol and pills, Jasmine desperately tries to maintain the appearance of wealth and decorum, as the truth is gradually revealed.
Cate Blanchett, who won best supporting actress for her performance as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, in 2005, is currently filming in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella.
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Ellen DeGeneres received an Emmy nomination for her job hosting the 2007 Oscars and now she will be taking the helm again at next year’s ceremony.
“It’s official: I’m hosting the #Oscars!” Ellen DeGeneres, 55, tweeted on Friday.
She added: “I’d like to thank @TheAcademy, my wife Portia and, oh dear, there goes the orchestra.”
It will mark Ellen DeGeneres’ second time as Oscar host after she emceed the 79th Annual Academy Awards in 2007, for which she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program.
“I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time,” Ellen DeGeneres said in a statement.
“You know what they say – the third time’s the charm.”
This year’s host, Seth MacFarlane, drew mixed reviews for an edgy performance. He had already taken himself out of the running for a return engagement next year.
Ellen DeGeneres will emcee the Academy Awards for the second time
Oscars producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron expressed their delight at having the talk show queen back.
“As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars,” they wrote in press release.
“There are few stars today who have Ellen’s gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity. She is beloved everywhere and we expect that the audience at the Dolby Theatre, and in homes around the globe, will be as excited by this news as we are.”
“Ellen is talented, wonderfully spontaneous, and knows how to entertain a worldwide audience,” said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO.
“She’s a big fan of the Oscars; we’re huge fans of hers. It’s a perfect match.”
Ellen DeGeneres became a household name with her talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which has earned 45 Daytime Emmys during its 10 seasons.
The 2014 Oscars Ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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Family Guy comedian Seth MacFarlane found himself at the centre of more scandal on Monday in the wake of his controversial hosting of Oscars 2013.
Seth MacFarlane caused outrage among viewers when his Ted alter-ego took to the stage at Sunday night’s ceremony with Mark Wahlberg, and told his co-star that if he “wants to work in this town” he’s got to be Jewish.
His Ted then added to Mark Wahlberg: “I was born Theodore Shapiro and I would like to donate to Israel and continue to work in Hollywood forever.”
But the gags, which came as the pair presented the award for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing, weren’t received well by many Jewish rights groups, with the comedian labeled “offensive, unfunny and inappropriate”.
Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement: “While we have come to expect inappropriate <<Jews control Hollywood>> jokes from Seth MacFarlane, what he did at the Oscars was offensive and not remotely funny.
“It only reinforces stereotypes which legitimize anti-Semitism. It is sad and disheartening that the Oscars awards show sought to use anti-Jewish stereotypes for laughs.”
The League’s Founder and Dean, Rabbi Marvin Hier, added: “The Oscars are transmitted to every corner of the globe, even to such places where such hateful myths are believed as fact.
“Every comedian is entitled to wide latitude, but no one should get a free pass for helping to promote anti-Semitism.”
The statement continued with the League accusing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of failing to show “greater sensitivity” by allowing the sketch to be aired during the show.
Seth MacFarlane divided opinion with many of his jokes, which saw him take mock Adele’s weight and Chris Brown and Rihanna’s relationship, as well as a sketch which was deemed racist after the comedian used a colored sock to illustrated Denzel Washington.
However, a spokeperson for the Academy said in a statement of Seth MacFarlane’s hosting: “If the Oscars are about anything, they’re about creative freedom.
“We think the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane, did a great job, and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining.”
If Seth MacFarlane’s success is to be judged by the ratings of the show, then controversy rules.
The 85th Oscars cracked 40 million viewers for the first time since 2010 – pulling 40.3 million viewers on ABC, an overall increase of 3% from 2012’s telecast hosted by veteran master of ceremonies Billy Crystal, which drew 39.3 million viewers.
Even better, viewership rose 11% in the important 18-49 demographic with a 13.0 rating over the 2012 show’s 11.7 rating in the same category
However, the show failed to top the 2004 Oscar’s audience of 43.5 million viewers who tuned in to watch Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King take Best Picture.
Despite the success of the show, Seth MacFarlane said on Tuesday that he would not return to host another show.
Retweeting a message from another website asking him if he would reprise his presenting role, Seth MacFarlane replied: “No way. Lotta fun to have done it, though.”
According to the comedian’s sister, Seth MacFarlane had to be reassured at length by his family that things went well after the ceremony.
Speaking on Access Hollywood Live, Seth MacFarlane’s sister Rachael explained: “He’s incredibly, incredibly critical of himself. So we were saying, <<You were fantastic, it was amazing>>. He said, <<I’m always going to find something>>.”
Family Guy writer and creator Seth MacFarlane was a risky choice as the host of this year Academy Awards.
Seth MacFarlane, 39, incurred the wrath of viewers during his joke stuffed monologue after he made an indirect reference to Skyfall singer Adele’s weight.
He said: “Rex Reed will be out here to review Adele’s performance of Skyfall.”
The funnyman left no facet of Hollywood untouched by his barbs as he hosted the 85th annual Academy Awards, as he joked about women, domestic violence, ageism, weight and the “hairy” Kardashians.
Seth MacFarlane began the broadcast looking totally relaxed; alone on the stage, he delivered a series of one-liners, many of which drew fire from critics and the internet community.
Starting off with a reference to the Oscar-nominated film Lincoln, Seth MacFarlane pondered about Daniel Day Lewis’ devotion to character, saying: “I would argue the actor who really got inside Lincoln’s head was John Wilkes Booth.”
His tale took an uncomfortable turn when he brought up the issue of slavery: “Like, if you bumped into Don Cheadle on the studio lot, did you try to free him? How deep does your method go?”
Page Six scoffed at the aside, which got a cold audience reaction, by calling it “flat”.
While going through his list of perfunctory celebrity bashing jokes he also managed to make an inappropriate joke about 9-year-old nominee Quvenzhane Wallis and George Clooney.
“To give you an idea of how young she is, it’ll be 16 years until she’s too old for Clooney,” he said.
In his intro to presenters Jennifer Aniston and Channing Tatum, he accused the Friends star of having a dubious past.
“Of our next two presenters, at least one is honest about being a former exotic dancer. Please welcome Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston,” he quipped.
Twitter user Laura Hudson was among the thousands on the micro blogging site that found it hard to swallow his humour.
“I mean this Oscars ceremony also featured Jennifer Aniston getting called a stripper, a domestic violence joke,” she wrote.
Laura Hudson was referring to Seth MacFarlane’s most controversial barb. As he introduced Quentin Tarantino’s violent revenge western Django Unchained he described it as, “the story of a man fighting to get back his woman, who’s been subjected to unthinkable violence – or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie”.
The reference to Chris Brown’s 2009 assault of Rihanna drew gasps from the audience in Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
Rihanna and Chris Brown have since been reunited, and recently attended the 2013 Grammy Awards together.
Huffington Post criticized the comedian for taking a dig at the sensitive topic: “Domestic violence is not like dating, Seth.”
Seth MacFarlane later targeted snubbed actor/director Ben Affleck saying: “The film’s director is unknown to the Academy.”
And again later in the program referring to Ben Affleck’s bearded appearance in the movie he quipped: “The first time I saw [Ben Affleck] with all that dark facial hair, I thought, <<My God, the Kardashians have made the jump to film>>; and even he had to admit afterward he wasn’t sure about the joke.
“The energy in the room cooled as the crowd laughed nervously, forcing him to reply with an assurance that the joke was ‘as bad as it gets, if it makes you feel better.”
“Oh no, that’s what we were afraid he would do,” he said, mimicking the audience’s response.
He followed it up with another Quentin Tarantino aimed jibe – the writer/director won the award for Best Screenplay on the night.
Talking about the film’s controversial overuse of the n-word, Seth MacFarlane drew silence from the crowd when he joked that the screenplay was “loosely based on Mel Gibson’s voicemails”.
Seth MacFarlane’s sock-puppet reenactment of Flight in which he wore a brown sock to represent Denzel Washington, also raised eyebrows from the conservative crowd.
“You’re a white guy in 2013,” said William Shatner to Seth MacFarlane.
“You can’t wear black hand.”
TODAY wrote: “White guys doing racial humor, no matter how gentle, still makes everyone uncomfortable.”
Website Gawker slammed the first time host as “unfunny, tired, self-centered and boring, but also incredibly homophobic and racist”.
But not everybody disliked seth MacFarlane’s presenting style.
“Loving that MacFarlane is attempting to preempt his #Oscars criticism,” Vanity Fair posted on their Twitter account Sunday.
The magazine was referring to William Shatner apparently predicting seth MacFarlane’s Oscar fail, telling him: “The show’s a disaster. Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate and everyone ends up hating you.”
He then showed Seth MacFarlane a copy of a newspaper headline from the day after the awards that read “Seth MacFarlane Worst Oscar host ever”.
Playing innocent, Seth Macfarlane tried to defend himself and asked what he did wrong.
However, TV host Piers Morgan was quick to show his support for the comedian.
“This is unbelievably, unacceptably, gob-smackingly, hilariously inappropriate. Keep going. @SethMacFarlane.”
People Magazine also threw in some praise: “If you’re hating on Seth, just remember: He’s got Channing up there dancing.”
Russell Crowe tweeted: “Congratulations @SethMacFarlane , you did great mate, handled it all with grace, #topjob .”
And Steve Martin, who hosted the ceremony three times, in 2001, 2003, and 2010, tweeted: “Seth MacFarlane was wonderful and who knew? I did. But then, I wrote <<Cruel Shoes>>.”
The Office actor Rainn Wilson was also a fan of Seth Macfarlane’s presenting style, as were Kristin Chenoweth – who performed a musical number, Here’s to the Losers, to close the show.
Rainn Wilson wrote: “Truly, @SethMacFarlane did a great job. Funny, self-deprecating and surprisingly fresh.”
Kristin Chenoweth tweeted: “I had a blast tonight singing with @sethmacfarlane. He KILLED it! So good!”
In an effort to change the course of history, he used the remainder of his 15 minutes to redeem himself, starting with a sensual dance by Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum to his rendition of Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight.
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Adele and other stars performing on the Oscar show have insisted that they will sing live and won’t cheat by miming.
“They’re all singing live as far as I understand,” declared Cameron Mackintosh one of the producers of the Les Miserables movie.
Cast members from the picture such as Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Helena Bonham Carter, Russell Crow, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Amanda Seyfried and Sacha Baron Cohen all sang live at rehearsals for a musical segment that celebrated movie musicals of the last decade such as Dreamgirls and Chicago.
However, Catherine Zeta Jones, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for Chicago eleven years ago, was said by observers not to have sung live during rehearsal sessions at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood where last night’s (Sunday) 85th annual Academy Awards extravaganza was taking place.
Organizers are desperate to avoid what they term a “Beyonce shambles”. A reference to Beyonce’s performance at President Barack Obama’s inauguration where the singer was found to have lip-synched to the national anthem of the United States of America.
The discovery led to a firestorm of criticism and the “Beyonce” topic was endlessly debated on political and entertainment television shows across the US, and there were choruses of disapproval in the UK, too.
Catherine Zeta Jones will dance and sing a number from Chicago, believed to be All That Jazz. It has been described as a major highlight of the Oscar show. It’s not known yet whether the actress, wife of Michael Douglas, will sing live or perform using a track she has already pre-recorded.
However, all singers performing at the Oscar ceremony – including Dame Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand – have pre-recorded their songs as a safety net just in case there are technical problems.
During rehearsals though, every performer has sung live, except Catherine Zeta Jones.
“Look, she maybe saving her voice for the official performance. Everybody’s dying to see whether she sings or not,” a source who has been at several rehearsals explained.
Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Adele and other stars performing on the Oscar show have insisted that they will sing live and won’t cheat by miming
Academy executives, some voters and actors and agents and producers have been using any old ruse to get into the rehearsals which are being held under tight security.
Onlookers note that Adele has been “indescribably mind-blowing”. Another observer told how at one point the singer performed the Oscar nominated Skyfall title song with no musical accompaniment.
“It was Adele, singing live and knocking it out of the park. Everyone stopped to listen. The carpenters and lighting guys started applauding. It’s impossible to impress those guys but they were bowled over and showed their respect.
“It sounded out of this world unaccompanied and later some of us heard her sing with the full works, the full orchestra and it was one of those rare goose bump moments that you never forget.”
Adele has already won the Golden Globe for best original song. She and co-writer Paul Epworth are front-runners to win the best song Oscar.
Les Miserables has a rival song called Suddenly which was written specially for the film by Herbert Kretzmer, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.
Cameron Mackintosh paid out of his own pocket to double the chorus taking part in the Les Miserables segment from 24 to 48, flying some in from London and New York.
Others taking part in musical numbers include Jennifer Hudson who will perform a number from Dreamgirls and Norah Jones will sing the nominated song from the comedy Ted.
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Sofia Vergara has canceled her Oscar plans, including an appearance at Madonna’s party, as she is hospitalized for an operation.
The nature of the actress’ condition is not yet known.
Sofia Vergara was in good spirits when she was seen dining out with her fiancé Nick Loeb on Friday night in West Hollywood.
The happy couple enjoyed a low-key evening at the famous BOA Steakhouse and Nick showed his chivalrous side as he collected Sofia from the back entrance.
Sofia Vergara was dressed in a little black dress but kept warm with the help of a matching coat with fur-lined jacket.
She has also been busy filming scenes for her hit sitcom over the past few days.
Sofia Vergara has been documenting the events of filming and rehearsing with her co-stars by posting candid photos to her Twitter and Instagram photos.
After a trip to New York, Sofia Vergara was seen arriving in Los Angeles on Monday evening.
Sofia Vergara has canceled her Oscar plans, including an appearance at Madonna’s party, as she is hospitalized for an operation
Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat was detained on LAX as he entered the U.S. on Tuesday for this week’s awards ceremony and his family threatened with deportation.
Emad Burnat says that when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from Turkey with his wife and 8-year-old son, customs agents told them they didn’t have the proper proof that he was a nominee and would send them back if they couldn’t verify the reason for their visit.
The director had brought his family to Los Angeles for Sunday’s Oscars where his documentary 5 Broken Cameras has been nominated for an Academy Award.
After about an hour of questioning, the agents allowed Emad Burnat and his family to enter the country.
Oscar-winning documentarian Michael Moore said on his website that he helped clear up the matter by making some phone calls to Oscars’ officials on Emad Burnat’s behalf.
Emad Burnat had been in the United States two weeks earlier doing interviews about the film alongside his co-director, Israeli activist Guy Davidi.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that it is prohibited from discussing specific cases, but noted that in general: “Travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel and confirmation of admissibility.”
Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat was detained on LAX as he entered the U.S. on Tuesday for this week’s awards ceremony and his family threatened with deportation
Michael Moore, a friend of Emad Burnat’s and a champion of his work, wrote on his website, michaelmoore.com, that Burnat texted him from an airport holding area seeking help.
He said he made a few calls to leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who contacted some attorneys to clear up the matter.
Michael Moore tweeted: “Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help.”
5 Broken Cameras, the first Palestinian documentary ever nominated for an Oscar, already has won awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Cinema Eye Honors.
The documentary features footage that the olive farmer-turned-filmmaker shot using five cameras in his occupied West Bank village of Bil’in, from everyday activities with his family to protests and shootings.
The son with whom he is traveling, Gibreel, was the inspiration for buying the first of these cameras in 2005; like so many parents, Emad Burnat wanted to document the boy’s first steps and smiles.
However, he also found himself wanting to capture the tension and fighting that are daily occurrences in the struggle for territory. In the film, his cameras keep getting destroyed in the violence.
Because of his experiences, Emad Burnat said in a statement on Wednesday, he’s gotten used to the kind of questioning he and his family underwent at LAX.
Emad Burnat said: “There are more than 500 Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks, and other barriers to movement across our land, and not a single one of us has been spared the experience that my family and I experienced yesterday.
“Ours was a very minor example of what my people face every day.”
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Ben Affleck has won 2013 DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Argo, further sealing its status as best-picture front-runner at this year’s Oscars.
Saturday’s prize also normally would make Ben Affleck a near shoo-in to win best-director at the February 24 Oscars, since the Directors Guild recipient nearly always goes on to claim the same prize at Hollywood’s biggest night.
But Ben Affleck surprisingly missed out on an Oscar directing nomination, along with several other key favorites, including fellow Directors Guild contenders Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty and Tom Hooper for Les Miserables.
Ben Affleck’s Oscar snub has not hurt Argo and may even have earned it some favor among awards voters as an underdog favorite.
Argo has dominated other awards since the Oscar nominations.
Ben Affleck has won 2013 DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Argo
“I don’t think that this makes me a real director, but I think it means I’m on my way,” said Ben Affleck, who won for just his third film behind the camera.
The Directors Guild honors continued Hollywood’s strange awards season, which could culminate with a big Oscar win for Ben Affleck’s Argo. The guild’s prize for best director typically is a final blessing for the film that goes on to win best-picture and director at the Oscars.
Ben Affleck can go only one-for-two at the Oscars, though. While Argo is up for best picture, the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooked him for a directing slot.
Backstage at the Directors Guild honors, Ben Affleck said he had nothing but respect for the academy and that “you’re not entitled to anything”.
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Oscars 2013 are to pay tribute to 50 years of James Bond films.
“We are very happy to include a special sequence on our show saluting the Bond films on their 50th birthday,” said the producers of this February’s Oscars show, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.
They described the films about the British spy as “the longest-running motion picture franchise in history, and a beloved global phenomenon”.
Current Bond film Skyfall has made more than $1 billion globally so far.
This makes it the most successful Bond film in the series’ 23-film franchise. It stars Daniel Craig in his third outing as Bond, and was directed by Sam Mendes.
Oscars 2013 are to pay tribute to 50 years of James Bond films
The inclusion of Bond at the Oscars show is likely to fuel speculation that Skyfall will feature in the nominations on January 10 – two weeks earlier than usual.
The film also became the first Bond film to be nominated for the top prize at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards.
The PGA awards are seen as a good indicator of which film could win best picture at the Oscars, the most coveted film prize of the year and highlight of the movie calendar.
Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson were also among nominees for the PGA.
Historically, 007 films have only been Oscar-nominated for technical or musical categories, so the PGA nods have marked a departure from this.
The Oscars ceremony on February 24 will be hosted from Hollywood by Seth MacFarlane, the creator of hit TV comedy animation series Family Guy.
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Angelina Jolie claims she has paid no notice to the furor that followed her leg-baring incident at this year’s Oscars last month.
The flashpoint, which has been given the disappointingly unoriginal “leg-gate” moniker, became a favorite subject for satirists, but Angelina Jolie affirms it is water off a duck’s back.
Speaking out about the incident for the first time, the actress initially played the familiar celebrity gambit of ignorance.
Angelina Jolie, 36, told the Huffington Post: “I honestly didn’t pay attention to it. You know what I mean?
“I don’t watch those TV shows and if I go online and see something about myself, I don’t click on it.
“And the people I surround myself with don’t really talk about that kind of stuff.”
Angelina Jolie claims she has paid no notice to the furor that followed her leg-baring incident at this year's Oscars last month
Unfortunately Angelina Jolie soon fluffed her lines by suggesting she was not as unaware as she was letting on about how famous her antics in the Atelier Versace dress had become.
The actress said: “I heard something, but I didn’t pay any attention.
“It’s as simple as a being a woman picking a dress you like and having a night, and not really thinking about anything else.”
As well as becoming a talking point on news stations around the world, Angelina Jolie’s perfect pin has left its mark on the internet.
A Twitter account named Angelina Jolie’s Leg regularly posts musings from what is arguably now her most famous feature.
Angelina Jolie’s turn on the red carpet at the Oscars last week made headlines across the globe.
Almost a week on, picture of Angelina Jolie’s jutting right leg is still generating talk – but now for different reasons.
Dr. Drew appeared on The View yesterday where he said Angelina Jolie looks dangerously malnourished in the eye-catching image.
As the picture was flashed up on a screen behind him, Dr. Drew warned that women should not regard the actress as an ideal of beauty on account of her remarkably skinny figure.
“She’s malnourished,” Dr. Drew claimed, before reiterating: “I just see malnutrition.”
“We should not look at that as an ideal of beauty, even though she might be a beautiful woman.”
Dr. Drew’s comments came after he expressed the same verdict on her “dangerously” skinny frame during his own, self-titled show earlier this week.
As the picture was flashed up on a screen behind him, Dr. Drew warned that women should not regard the actress as an ideal of beauty on account of her remarkably skinny figure
Fox presenter Bill O’Reilly is another who has weighed in on the matter.
“Is it just me or is she looking mighty slim these days? Emaciated even? I was kind of taken aback. Look at the arms on her,” he said on The O’Reilly Factor the day after the Oscars.
Bill O’Reilly went on to say Angelina Jolie, in his opinion, was sending out the wrong message to her fans with her rail-thin physique.
“Something’s going on here,” Bill O’Reilly said.
“She is slight. Let’s hope it’s nothing unusual.”
In November 2011, Grazia magazine reported Angelina Jolie survives on as little as 600 calories a day, which is the equivalent of two bowls of cereal with milk.
“Angelina has been known to start her day with little more than a spoonful of coconut oil and a handful of cereal,” a source told the publication.
“The worrying thing is that she is so busy, she often forgets to eat.
“Sometimes she’ll skip lunch altogether or will just grab a few almonds and some gummy bears while she’s on the go, or will have a protein-based shake rather than anything more substantial.
“Then dinner could be something like a lean steak and a glass of red wine.”
Angelina Jolie’s fluctuating weight has been well documented, with her slim frame becoming painfully thin during difficult emotional times in her life.
She was forced to defend her waif-like frame in 2007, when her weight plummeted following the death of her mother Marcheline.
At the time, Angelina Jolie said: “I have always been lean, and this year I lost my mum and I’ve gone through a lot.
“Instead of people saying I look like a person dealing with something emotionally, they assume it’s because I want to fit into skinny jeans.”
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The men behind the Meryl Streep’s transformation into Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady are about to find out if they have won an Oscar tonight.
Mark Coulier is one half of the team that transformed one of the world’s most recognisable actresses into one of the most famous faces in British political history.
“You can never tell how the Academy is going to vote,” says Mark Coulier, when we meet at a reception for British nominees in Los Angeles two days ahead of Sunday’s Oscars ceremony.
“Somebody said to me before we started on The Iron Lady that it’s a career maker or a career breaker. Hopefully it’ll make mine.”
Mark Coulier and American J Roy Helland are both up for an Oscar for their work on the film. J Roy Helland has been doing Meryl Streep’s hair and make-up for more than 35 years.
During the course of The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep’s Thatcher is seen both in her political prime and as a woman in her mid 80’s, struggling with dementia.
For the younger version, Mark Coulier used a small nose piece to alter the bridge of Meryl Streep’s nose.
“We tried to keep it as subtle as we could,” he says.
But some things had to be toned down. “Meryl’s got great cheekbones and Thatcher’s got a fuller face.”
The men behind the Meryl Streep's transformation into Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady are about to find out if they have won an Oscar tonight
The biggest challenge came when the team had to turn Meryl Streep into a woman in her mid 80’s.
That was a job for prosthetics and paint work. But the team wanted to avoid using a full face mask.
“We started off with a plaster cast of Meryl’s head,” explains Mark Coulier.
“We also did computer designs and took Margaret Thatcher’s picture and Meryl’s picture and fused them together.”
Mark Coulier then crafted latex strips from the head that were then applied to Meryl Streep’s face.
Damian Jones, producer of The Iron Lady, recalls the moment he first saw Meryl Streep in full make-up.
“It was haunting, I was speechless. It was pretty eerie because there was the old lady of Margaret Thatcher in front of us – and it was Meryl Streep.”
The film’s director Phyllida Lloyd says that getting the makeup right was one of the most crucial elements of the film.
“We worked so hard in the preparation and the planning of that. We didn’t want the makeup to be <<eggy>> and a barrier for the audience.
“It comes down to Roy, Mark and Meryl’s painstaking attention to detail.”
And what of the distinctive Margaret Thatcher hairstyle?
“Those wigs were personalities themselves, and there were many of them. And the teeth!”
Phyllida Lloyd adds: “Roy’s worked with Meryl for over 35 years – it’s an amazing relationship and an important part of her preparation and process. It would be very moving if he gets the Oscar.”
The A-listers are currently sweeping into Hollywood as the biggest event in the movie industry calendar looms tonight, Oscars 2012.
For all the star quality brought to the red carpet by the likes of Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet, Rooney Mara and Halle Berry, it is the enduring icons of the golden age that still show the A-listers how it should be done.
The golden generations’ pictures capture the sophistication and allure of stars on awards nights more than half a century ago.
In one, Audrey Hepburn grins and sports an elfin haircut while clutching her Oscar in 1953, for her breakout role in Roman Holiday alongside Gregory Peck.
Frank Sinatra’s career was on the wane when he won the Best Supporting Actor award in the same year for the wartime drama From Here To Eternity.
Audrey Hepburn grins and sports an elfin haircut while clutching her Oscar in 1953, for her breakout role in Roman Holiday alongside Gregory Peck
After Marlon Brando won the Academy Award for On The Waterfront it was stolen, finally turning up in a London auction house who contacted the actor and informed him that they had it. Before that the two-time Best Actor winner had been using it to help hold his front door open.
A teenage Natalie Wood glances excitedly in the mirror as she is primped and preened in preparation for the Oscars in a Warner Brothers studio dressing room – the night she won a Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in the 1955 film Rebel Without A Cause.
Kirk Douglas is seen charming the crowd in 1954 as he enters the Academy Awards ceremony. He was nominated three times for Best Actor but never won. Kirk Douglas received a Honorary award in 1996 for “50 years as a moral and creative force in the motion picture community”.
In other pictures, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly wait with apparent nerves backstage to present an award. They are both dressed in full-skirted gowns with evening gloves and hair in elegant chignons.
A dashing Clark Gable arrives with Kelly, wrapped in a fur stole, at another ceremony while one of Tinseltown’s greatest romances – Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart radiate glamour.
Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly wait with apparent nerves backstage to present an award
The first awards were handed out to a select 15 in front of a crowd of 270 on May 16, 1929, at a private brunch in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
The root of where the name Oscar comes has become a highly contested Hollywood legend. One biography of Bette Davis claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband – band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson.
Another claimed origin is that the Academy’s secretary, Margaret Herrick, first saw the award in 1931 and made reference to the statuette reminding her of her “Uncle Oscar”. The trophy was officially dubbed the Oscar in 1939 by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The 84th Academy Awards will be hosted by Billy Crystal at the Kodak theatre tonight. It is televised live across the U.S. and is watched by around 40 million Americans.
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