With the Oscars this weekend, it’s fun to look back at some of the odd and interesting facts you may not have known about the big event:
- Tom Hank’s acceptance speech for his role in Philadelphia became the basis of the film In & Out.
- Oscar winners sign a contract stipulating they cannot sell their Oscar without first offering it back to the Academy for the sum of $1.
- One of the requirements to be nominated for an Oscar is that the movie has to be screened in an LA theater for at least 7 days.
- 3 people have turned down their Oscars, including George C. Scott, who called the awards show a “meat parade” in 1971 and Marlon Brando in 1972.
- Woody Allen refuses to attend or present at the Oscars, despite winning three awards. His one appearance was in 2002 when he presented a short about New York City following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- Maggie Smith won an Oscar for portraying an actress who lost an Oscar in California Suite, making it the only film revolving around the Oscars to win one.
- The only film to show an Oscar in a scene while also winning Best Picture is The Godfather.
- Alfred Hitchcock and William Holden share the record for shortest acceptance speech. They simply said “Thank you.”
- Sealed envelopes became customary in 1941, a year after the LA Times broke the press embargo and printed the names of all of the winners before the ceremony.
- John C. Reilly is the only modern actor to star in three films in the same year that were later nominated for Best Picture: Chicago, The Hours, and Gangs of New York in 2002.
These Oscar oddities are from the web site: