The Oscars
Hollywood instituted Film Awards Events and still holds the reigns today. The most prestigious
award of all is the 13 1/2 inch tall 24 k gold plated Oscar Statuette
first awarded in 1929. Oscar is the most recognized trophy in the
world. There are presently 2,809 in the world today. This event was held for
the very first time May 16, 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel for $5.00
a ticket and it was not known as ‘the Oscars’. That came later when
a librarian looked at the statuette and remarked it looked like her uncle ‘Oscar”.
The name stuck.
In testament to the
importance of ‘the Oscars’, The Academy Awards (The
Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences) has only had four incidents over
its entire existence when a last minute scheduling change was necessary. In 1938
massive flooding in LA delayed the event 1 week. In 1968 Dr.
Martin Luther King was assassinated days before the event, his funeral was
April 9th, out of respect the awards were postponed until the 10th. In
1981 the Oscars were postponed because of an assassination
attempt on President Ronald Reagan. In 2003, US forces invaded
Iraq, the red carpet shrank and most of the world press were uninvited days
before the event!
The Golden Globes
The Golden Globes presented by HFPA (The Hollywood
Foreign Press Association) began in 1943 by 8 foreign journalists.
It had very humble beginnings and no money. The actual golden trophy was
created in 1946 a golden globe with a filmstrip encircling it. The Golden Globes kicks off the Film
& TV Awards Season preceded by the Critics Choice Awards (since
1995) and the People’s Choice Awards, (held since 1975 with two
counterparts: PCA (Australia and the British Comedy Awards)
all Hollywood Events in early to mid January. The most famous Golden Globes
incident apart from the time in 1999 when Jack Nicholson
mooned the audience occurred in 1958 when an inebriated ‘Rat Pack’
(Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.)
stormed the Golden Globes stage and took over the show. From then on it
became a night for the stars to roast and toast each other. The evening was
getting quite stuffy and hard to separate from other events until Ricky
Gervais hosted the ‘2011 Globes’ bringing back some of the glory
days of irreverence and lighthearted entertainment to an international audience
of now 250 million viewers.
The DGA Awards
The Directors Guild
Awards began in 1938 and
are given by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award
was given to D. W. Griffith.
Traditionally the DGA Award for Feature Film is a very reliable
indicator for the Best Director Oscar. The Directors Guild of America
is a huge organization with an extensive network and valuable resources
including everything from financial assistance to legal help. The eyes of the
world turn to the DGA’s held at the Hollywood Grand Ballroom end of
January.
The BAFTA’S
The first BAFTA
was given out in London, England 1947.
There are actually 5 yearly BAFTA events. BAFTA awards
honour excellence in film, television and video games. The award is a golden
mask – the Grecian maquette designed by American sculptor Mitzi
Cunliffe. The official BAFTA name was adopted in 1979
before this it was The British Film Academy and then The
Society after merging with the Guild of Television Producers and
Directors. BAFTA like the Golden Globes had terrible
initial financial struggles. David Lean donated the royalties
from Bridge Over The River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago
to provide invaluable working funds in the early years. The Queen
also donated royalties from Richard Cawston’s documentary Royal
Family enabling significant further growth and a permanent home for BAFTA
and allowed it to become the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
The BAFTA’s move the international film world’s gaze to England in mid
February (this year at the Royal Opera House in London).
Although there are now
many remarkable and significant film festivals around the world these are the
ones that started the international film awards events. All have had humble
beginnings, struggled to find financing, were frequently driven forward by the
dedication of industry devotees for the purpose of celebrating and encouraging
outstanding creative achievement in the field of film and television (now video
games as well). Just to be nominated for
any one of these awards is massive!
Moira Romano
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