Tag Archives: SAG

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What you didn’t know about the Oscar statuette.

The Oscar Statuette, a gold man holding a sword set on top of a black base.

The Oscar Statuette

Arguably, the most recognised award in the world, the Oscar statuette has stood on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers since 1929.

The Oscar Statuette, a gold man holding a sword set on top of a black base.

Oscar Statuette. Credit ©A.M.P.A.S.®

Official Name – Academy Award® of Merit

Height – 13½ inches

Weight – 8½ pounds

Number Presented – 2,809

Designer – Cedric Gibbons, Chief Art Director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Manufacturing Time – 3-4 Weeks for 50 Statuettes

Fact

  • Once presented with an Oscar, the recipient is encumbered by the requirement that they themselves or their heirs cannot sell the statue without first offering the Academy the option to buy it for US$1. If the recipient refuses this, the Academy keeps the statue.

So don’t expect to see Jennifer Lawrence’s statuette on ebay anytime soon.

  • Director, screenwriter and actor, Emilio Fernandez posed nude to inspire the Oscar design.
  • The Academy theorises that the Oscar nickname derived from academy librarian, Margaret Herrick, who in the 1930s said that award looked like her uncle named Oscar.
  • Depending on the number of nominees and the maximum amount of Oscars that could be won, there are up to 50 statuettes created for each awards ceremony. Those that are left over at the end of the night are stored away in the Academy vault until next year’s ceremony,
  • The Oscar statuette stands on a film reel with five spokes, representing the original branches of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; Actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.

Check out 12 Golden facts about Oscar Statuettes to tell your friends on Mashable.com

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5 facts about the Screen Actors Guild Awards Statuette

An image of the Screen Actors Guild award trophy standing behind the words' Screen Actors Guild Awards'.

Screen Actors Guild Award 

The Screen Actors Guild Award statuette, an oxidised bronze statue of a man holding in front of him the make of the dramatic arts, comedy and tragedy.

The Actor®. Credit Mark Hill

Official Name – The Actor®

Height – 16 inches

Weight – 12 pounds

Number Presented – 823

Designer – Jim Heimann and Jim Barnett

Manufacturer – American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank

Facts

  • Set on a block of black granite, The Actor® is the heaviest awards of the awards season. Not yet dressed, he holds the mask of comedy and tragedy contemplating which persona he will take when he steps in front of the camera.
  • A team of 10 people are responsible for the handcrafting of each of the awards each year, a process that takes between 3 and 4 weeks to produce.
  • Each awards is created through a process called ‘lost-wax’ which requires a highly detailed, ceramic mould to be filled with wax to create another mould in which the molten bronze is poured into. Due to the delicate process, The Actor® starts out life with no arms, they are attached at a later point to ensure that they do not break off.
  • The award itself is created from bronze, but to achieve the distinctive green appearance, oxidation, which is a natural process, is sped up with the help of a blowtorch.
  • To date, the Screen Actors Guild foundation has given out a total of 832 Actor statuettes. Each nearly identical and yet each an individual work of art.
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Tis the season: a look at film awards

A black and white image a crowded room holding the guests of the first Academy Awards banquet at Roosevelt hotel
A black and white image a crowded room holding the guests of the first Academy Awards banquet at Roosevelt hotel

The first Academy Awards ceremony
Image via reelfxart.blogspot.co.uk

Christmas is soon to be over and the dull grey hues and cold winter weather still remain outside. Thankfully there is still a lot to celebrate as the film awards season is upon us.

A nude bronze statue holds a mask of comedy and tragedy in each hand

The SAG award. Image via www.sagawards.org

SAG Awards

Firstly the SAG awards, not a celebration of the more mature, SAG actually stands for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The accolade celebrates performances in film and television. Its trophy is a 16” solid bronze nude male statuette titled ‘the actor’ which holds a mask of comedy and tragedy in each hand.

The first SAG awards were held in 1995, celebrating the previous year, broadcast from stage 22 of Universal Studios. The annual lifetime achievement award, which predates the first awards show by thirty years, was given to George Burns. The show was his final television appearance before he died at 100 years old.

This year the 20th annual SAG awards will be presented on January 18th at the Shrine Exposition Centre in Los Angeles. 12 years a slave is nominated for four awards including, the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Supporting Role and Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

BAFTAs

A bronze mask sands on a small marble block.

BAFTA award. Image via en.wikipedia.org

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (formed in 1947) holds several awards each year, split into several different categories of Film, Television, Games and Children’s. From 1968 the Film and Television awards were held together in one ceremony until 1998.

The first awards were designed by English sculptor Henry Moore, and were large, bronze statues of a seated lady. The current BAFTA award which you will probably recognise is the iconic bronze mask, based on a design by Mitzi Cunliffe and has been presented since 1976. The first BAFTA mask was presented to Sir Charles Chaplin, better known as Charlie, who was honoured as an Academy Fellow.

The BAFTA Film Awards have been held in the Royal Opera House since 2008 and this years celebration will be held there on Sunday the 16th of February.

A tall shiny bronze statue on a small round black pedestal.

The Oscar award. Image via www.fxguide.com

Oscars

Finally; the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars. Arguably the most prestigious, and one of the oldest, the Academy Awards have been held since the first ceremony in 1929. It was a far smaller affair than the huge event it is today, 270 people attended the first ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

The award winners were announced three months before the first ceremony, but from the second awards they have been kept secret. Since 1941 the Academy adopted a strict sealed envelope policy after the Los Angeles Times printed the award winners names in its evening addition before the 1940’s ceremony.

The first awards had 12 categories, since then there have been more and more additions including, awards for Film Editing, Music Scoring, and Song (7th awards), Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress (9th awards), Special Effects (12th awards), an Award for Make Up (54th Awards) and The Animated Feature Film Award (54th awards).

The 86th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday March 2nd in the Dolby Theatre where they have been held for the last 12 years.

I will be looking at some more niche and unique awards soon, those which often don’t get such a look in from the average movie goer. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for post updates.