Oscar figurine. Interesting facts about the film award

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Once a year, the whole world awaits with trepidation the next ceremony of presenting the most honorable film award - the Oscar statuette. In February of this year, the eighty-fifth, in fact, anniversary ceremony took place. And the very first one took place back in 1929, and the main prize then was given to Emil Jannings for the best male role in the film The Last Order and Janet Gaynor for the best female role in the film 7th Heaven. It is worth noting that at that time, much fewer applicants competed for this statuette than now. However, the beginning of a good tradition was laid - and for the past 85 years, filmmakers have not retreated from it.

What is the Oscar figurine made of? Despite the fact that everyone calls it golden, it is by no means made of this precious metal. The figurine of a knight with a sword, standing on a reel of film, is cast from Britain. This alloy, which includes copper, zinc, antimony and tin, is first poured into a special mold for casting, which is made in advance. When the workpiece cools and hardens, it is removed from the mold, after which the technological casting elements are removed, ground and polished.

Next, the Oscar statuette receives a nominal number,which is engraved on a stand and subsequently entered into the archive of the US Film Academy. After the numbers have taken their place, the knight figurine is immersed several times in a galvanic bath, covering it with layers of molten copper. The next step in the manufacture of the figurine is coating with a layer of silver. And the procedure is completed by the most crucial moment - the coating of the future award with 24-carat gold, because of which, in fact, the Oscar received the nickname "golden". That, perhaps, is all. It remains only to screw the figurine to the black marble disk, the diameter of which is 13 cm. In total, the Oscar figurine has a height of 34 cm and weighs about four kilograms. The production of each of the 55 figurines required for the ceremony takes about twenty hours.

Surely the actors, actresses, screenwriters, sound engineers and all other figures in the cinema who received this prestigious award are proud of it. After all, this means that they were recognized as the best by millions of viewers. Many celebrities already have several Oscars. But do these golden weighty figures really stand at the stars in the place of honor? If so, then, for example, in the house of actor Cuba Gooding Jr., the “red corner” is the wine cellar, while Jodie Foster and Susan Sarandon have a bathroom. Hilary Swank keeps two of her figurines in her bedroom on a bookshelf, and Tom Hanks is among football awards and family trophies.

An interesting fact is that since 1950, the Oscar has been tacitly banned from being auctioned andjust sell. More precisely, this can be done, but only after the owner of the prize offers to buy it for each member of the film academy for one dollar. If no one buys, then you can put the reward up for sale in good conscience. It is believed that the Oscar figurine is priceless, although its cost is $400. Well, this is easy to understand, because with the receipt of this award, the income of its owner will skyrocket. It is quite fair that an actor who has received this award will demand higher fees for his participation in a particular film. And the Oscar itself is not a cheap figurine, because the minimum price that is set for its sale is equal to the cost of gold of the same weight as the prize.