If you've been reading the voluminous news reports spewing out daily on the upcoming Oscar celebrations, you've no doubt heard the name of an organization by the name of "The Academy" bandied about (the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences).
The members of the prestigious "club" - not only vote on candidates for the Oscar each year - but oversee the entire Academy process before and after the big top goes up annually (as the world gazes on from the frenzied sidelines with a lot of anticipation and merriment).
Members represent various crafts in the film industry.
For instance - actors, directors, and producers - each have a stake in deciding who will walk away with the coveted prize each year by a vote count of the eligible membership.
Curiously, actors boast the largest block of voting power, with a membership in the vicinity of 1205 in number.
Maybe thespians are a dime-a-dozen, eh?
Make-up folks and hairstylists (who gussy up the stars before they stand before the penetrating lens of the movie camera) are at the low end of totem with 118 members in total.
In the LA TIMES today, the "Envelope" section noted the newspaper took an unofficial poll, to get a slant on how members were voting in the current Oscar race to be telecast on March 7th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
The tallies were eye-opening, to say the least.
Although "The Hurt Locker" has been much-lauded (as a front-runner to win for Best Director & Best Film) the numbers revealed that upstart "An Education" - for one - will be a dark horse that comes from behind in a couple of categories along with "Inglorious Basterds" neck-in-neck.
For example, three of the largest academy voting blocks (actor, directors, and producers) appeared to be ignoring " Hurt Locker" as a surefire winner in the Best Picture category.
Meanwhile, the Director's race among the same "gang of three", indicated a three-way split with nods to James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow ( Hurt Locker), and Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds).
"The Hurt Locker"only received two nods from the actors, directors, and producers (Jeremy Renner, Best Actor; and Kathryn Bigelow, Director)
The bulk of the gold was spread out between "Inglorious Basterds" (Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay), "Crazy Heart" (Best Actor), "An Education" (Lead Actress, Adapted Screenplay) and Avatar (Best Director, Best Picture).
Lone picks included "Up in the Air" (Adapted Screenplay), "Messenger" (Best Screenplay), & "Up" (Best Screenplay).
The numbers are downright telling (and intriguing for a myriad of reasons) when you consieder that this motley group of power-brokers in the biz represent almost half of the voting membership at the Academy.
In a nutshell, there are bound to be a few upsets, surprise trots to the podium, and some wild unexpected back-slapping come Sunday.
"See, told 'ya so. Knew all along," may be the lament of the evening in some quarters
Ah, just a lot of Oscar - Monday-morning quarter-backing - in my estimation.
Pluck up the voter ballot from the LA tmes, fill in your choices, and see how you fair!
The insightful just might manage to rustle up a buck or two if they bet their hunches right in Vegas.
The Oscars are celebrating their 82nd year touting talent.
Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), has long been considered the major force behind the start-up of the organization.
The poweful studio mogul wanted to create an organization that would be able to mediate labor disputes and improve the industry’s image at a time when censors and the general public were concerned about racy onscreen material that bordered on the pornographic (and juicy scandals that were rocking Tinsel Town).
Initially the talks began with a handful of Motion Picture Producers, who sat down and discussed their vision one fine night a few decades ago.
After the initial meeting, Mayer invited thirty-six people involved in the film industry, to a formal banquet at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on January 11th in 1927. .
The idea for the formation of "The Academy" was well-received by the celebrated industry guests in attendance that auspicious occasion.
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was elected the first president of the Academy.
Shortly after he was inducted, he proposed that "Awards of Merit" for distincitive achievement be bestowed on worthy recipients.
A year later, the voting system for the Awards was established; subsequently, the nomination and selection process continued yearly after that.
The "Award of Merit" later became known as the Academy Award (Oscar).
In 1929, the Academy - in a joint venture with the University of Southern California - created America's first film school to further the art and science of moving pictures.
In addition to financing a school, the Academy also gives grants to filmmakers at the undergraduate and graduate level; awards up to five Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting annually; and operates the Margaret Herrick Library (at the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study) in Beverly Hills, California and at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
The current President of the Academy is Tom Sherak.
