Fun Facts you didn’t know about the Oscars
The Academy Awards returned to the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday with three hosts and over a dozen performers and presenters.
It was a whirlwind night. The 94th Academy Awards ended with “Coda” and “Dune” taking home the top honors of the night. Ariana DeBose made history as first Afro Latina, openly queer actor of color to win the Oscar, and Troy Kotsur made Oscar history as the second Deaf man to win in acting.
But here are a few fun facts about past Academy Awards you might not know:
The multi-talented Walt Disney has won more Oscars than anyone else. He was nominated for 64 awards and won 26. Composer John Williams is the second most nominated person, with 47 Academy Award nominations (and counting).
The actress with the most Oscars is Katharine Hepburn who won four Best Actress Oscars during her career. She starred in old-time classics like ‘The Rainmaker’ (1956) and ‘The African Queen’ (1951). She won four best actress Oscars.
Meanwhile, Clint Eastwood is the male actor with the most Oscars, with a total of 4 trophies to his name, but he didn’t win any for acting. Instead, he won two Oscars for Best Director and two Oscars for Best Picture for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.
Only three films have even won all five of the most sought-after Oscars for Best Film, Actor, Actress, Director, and Writing. They are: ‘It Happened One Night’ (1935), ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1976) and ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’ (1992).
Every second counts. The shortest performance to win an acting award: 5 minutes and 40 seconds was Beatrice Straight in ‘Network’ (1976).
Also, the Return of the King is the only film ever to have won every single Oscars it was nominated for.
While we know that the biggest Academy Awards ceremony is a big ordeal, here are a few numbers to put that into perspective.
According to People Magazine, more than 3,000 linear feet of red carpet made in costume hue of “Academy” red.
It took 600-man hours to install and remove the red carpet which is cleaned the morning of the show. More than 5,000 – Production staff, broadcast technicians, stagehands, associate directors, stage managers, hair-and-makeup staff, costumers, performers, singers, dancers, musicians, stand-ins, ushers, pages, catering staff, security, building staff, Motion Picture Academy staff, valets, seat fillers and vendors.
A remarkable 1,500 lighting instruments are used throughout the Oscars night. That is the equivalent of 18 miles of data and power cable that are used to light the show. And, if that is not enough, all electrical power is provided by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. In the event of a power outage, a dual UPS backup system is used, saving hundreds of hours of generator time and diesel-fuel use.
More than 200 countries aired the Oscars. To capture the broadcast, 55 cameras are used across the Oscars, pre-show, digital and international feeds. Plus, 12 broadcast mobile units and over 20 technical-support and office trailers are used in the production, and 14 miles of fiber optic cable are used to support the mammoth broadcast infrastructure.
Last but not least, a whopping 1,400 PCR Covid-19 tests were administered to cast and crew members ahead of the show, overseen by a 70-person Covid-19 team.
But in case you missed the drama, and I’m not talking about the kind that happens onscreen, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face on stage after the comic made a joke about the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, perhaps overshadowing the fact that he won his first Oscar in King Richard.
On Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) issued a statement saying it “does not condone violence of any form” after Smith hit comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars awards ceremony.
The statement then sought to bring attention back to the awards ceremony itself. “Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards Winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world”, it said.