{"id":122,"date":"2013-02-24T19:49:08","date_gmt":"2013-02-24T17:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=122"},"modified":"2013-02-24T19:49:08","modified_gmt":"2013-02-24T17:49:08","slug":"85th-academy-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2013\/02\/24\/85th-academy-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"85th Academy Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just under 8 hours to go to the 85th Academy Awards, and the Dobly Theatre is a hive of activity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Preparations<\/a>
Preparations for the governers ball.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

History<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Academy<\/h3>\n

The Academy is an artist-driven organization that advances the art and science of motion pictures. The Academy\u2019s mission is to preserve the past, honor the present, and shape the future of film. It is composed of more than 6,000 members who are distinguished by their achievements in the movie industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Academy is an artist-driven organization that advances the art and science of motion pictures. The Academy\u2019s mission is to preserve the past, honor the present, and shape the future of film. It is composed of more than 6,000 members who are distinguished by their achievements in the movie industry. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Award<\/h3>\n

Shortly after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was incorporated in 1927, a dinner was held in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to discuss the goals of the new organization. One of those goals was devising a method to honor outstanding achievements, thus encouraging higher levels of quality in all facets of motion picture production.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the decision had been made to institute an award, a major item of business was the creation of a trophy to symbolize film achievement. MGM art director Cedric Gibbons designed the statuette and Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley was selected to bring to three-dimensional form the figure of a knight standing on a reel of film, hands gripping a sword. The Academy\u2019s world-renowned statuette was born.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel\u2019s Blossom Room, 2,856 statuettes have been presented. Each January, additional new golden statuettes are cast, molded, polished and buffed by R.S. Owens & Company, the Chicago-based awards specialty company retained by the Academy since 1982.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach Oscar statuette is individually handcrafted,\u201d says Scott Siegel, president of R.S. Owens. \u201cThis statuette is only a tiny portion of our overall business, but it makes us known all around the world. No other award is as universally recognized as the Oscar, and we treat it with the extra-special tender loving care that it deserves. We are extremely proud that the Academy has entrusted its manufacture to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oscar statuette is the most recognized award in the world. Its success as a symbol of achievement in filmmaking would doubtless amaze those who attended that dinner more than 80 years ago, as well as its designer, Cedric Gibbons.<\/p>\n

It stands today, as it has since 1929, without peer, on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history.<\/p>\n

The Hosts<\/h2>\n

Seth MacFarlane will be hosting this year, with a long list of presenters:<\/p>\n