On March 11 – in the night from Sunday to Monday according to Central European time – the Oscars will be presented for the 96th time at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Naturally, the duel ‘Oppenheimer’ against ‘Barbie’ will go into the next round, but films such as ‘Anatomy of a Case’, ‘The Zone Of Interest’ and ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ are also among the favorites. We can of course only answer the question of who can take home the coveted gold statues at the end of next week – but of course If you were wondering why the Academy Award was called Oscar, we can remedy the situation now.
‘And the Oscar goes to…’ was not the motto at the first awards ceremony in 1929. In fact, almost 100 years ago many things were different: While today the awards ceremony lasts several hours, back then it was already after 15 (!) minutes pass. The tension was probably also kept to a minimum: the winners in only twelve categories (the war film ‘Wings of Steel’ was declared the first ‘Best Film’) were announced three months in advance, so that the winners decided on The Only all they had to do was accept the award instead of sitting in the audience shaking.
How did the Oscar get its name?
It is not actually known for certain why the name “Oscar” was used in subsequent years for the Academy Award of Merit, as the prize was originally called. But there are at least two (fairly similar) theories floating around about it. One of them says that Hollywood diva Bette Davis, who won two Oscars for ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Jezebel’, repeatedly said that the image reminded her of her first husband Harmon Oscar Nelson Jr.
Margaret Herrick, former board secretary and later director of the Academy, is also often mentioned as the namesake. When she first saw the statue, she reportedly said, “He looks like my Uncle Oscar!” This version – although also unproven – has prevailed in recent decades and has also been immortalized in the annals of the Academy. What is certain, however, is that Sidney Skolsky was the first journalist to print the name “Oscar” in a major newspaper, contributing significantly to his popularity. In 1979, the Academy finally trademarked the name, although it repeatedly emphasized that it was not the official name of what remains the world’s most important film award.
Choose your own Oscar winners now!
But whether you call it an Oscar or an Academy Award: together with Moviepilot we want to know from you what your favorites are from this year’s awards. So vote for your favorite films in ten categories at https://community-voting.de/ – and check the site on March 11, 2024 to see to what extent the choices of Moviepilot & FILMSTARTS film fans agree with or differ from the Academy’s decisions!