The Oscars-A History of the Academy Awards with Most Oscar Nominees and Oscar Winners

When the proto-Americans got fed up enough with George III to sever their ties with his imperial government, they lost forever all that comes with having a national royal family. It’s not going too far to say that the loss is partly assuaged by the antics and intrigues of America’s substitute royal family: movie stars. They’re rich, they have experiences we’ll never have, and they play by their own rules. Once a year our celebration of them reaches a zenith when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents its Academy Awards of Merit, better known as the Oscars.

If it’s a hunger for royal spectacle that attracts people to watch the Oscars it must be a powerful urge: as many as 43 million American viewers, and worldwide, one billion viewers. Which means that one out of seven of all the men, women and children on the planet tunes in.

Unbelievable, yes, and untrue: despite the frequent banter and many published accounts, nothing like a billion people watch the Oscars. Hundreds of millions though, seems likely. And that’s still a lot. And one in seven Americans actually does watch, which is astounding enough.

For those of us who are viscerally fascinated, there’s seemingly no end to what we find interesting. Oscar fever builds as we find out which actors and films have been nominated, wonder who will win, discuss who deserves to win and who’s been snubbed, learn breathlessly who our favorite stars are bringing as dates, and what the women are wearing (and who’s the best dressed and the who the worst). There’s just so much to be interested in.

The Academy was founded in 1927 by larger-than-life legends of the film business. It was the brainstorm of Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM (not bad for a nice Jewish boy from Minsk) along with such luminaries as Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, and Cecil B. DeMille. The first Oscars were handed out at a private brunch for 270 in 1929. These days the six thousand or so members of the Academy vote on the nominees, and once the ballots are tabulated, only two partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers know the results until the envelopes are opened on stage. The statuette weighs 8 ½ pounds, and is gold plated Britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy that’s mostly tin with a dash of antimony and copper. Since 1950 the Academy won’t actually give recipients their Oscars until they’ve signed a contract promising never to sell them. Nevertheless, post-1950 Oscars do sometimes get sold on the “grey market.” Michael Jackson purchased the 1939 best picture Oscar for Gone with the Wind for a little over a million-five. The 1943 Casablanca Oscar currently resides in illusionist David Copperfield’s bedroom. Oscar stands naked with his sword on a film reel with five spokes. The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.

It’s a safe bet that it will remain the biggest gathering of the most glittering stars as long as there’s a film industry, that millions of people all over the world will be very strongly drawn to it, and that different people will be attracted for different reasons. Some for the same reasons that royalty fascinates and compels, some because they need to see people living glamorous and exceptional lives, and some because we need to be witness to stories – love stories, dramas, comedies, documentaries, animations and foreign films. The movies tell stories in a way no other medium can, and those that create movie magic receive their most desired recognition on Oscar night. And it’s a safe bet that hundreds of millions of us will keep tuning in.

Here’s some superlatives about the history of Oscar winners:

Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Director
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
JC Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Animated Feature
"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams
"The Artist," Ludovic Bource
"Hugo," Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse," John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio," Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Best Documentary Feature
"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary Short Subject
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?"
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Best Achievement in Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Achievement in Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Follow this link to see all the nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards.

2012 Academy Award Nominations for the ceremony to be held on the 25th February 2012