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Entertainment Center The Oscar fever is gripping all the movie buffs across the continents, and the media is churning out articles and talk shows speculating possible winners in the coming 84th Annual Oscar Ceremony. This Sunday, on the 26th of February, millions of movie aficionados will be glued to their TV sets, to watch the glitterati from the movie world assemble in Los Angeles, California, to celebrate the great film personalities and their movies. The celebration is grand with the folks from the movie industry – and the other guests – will walk down the red carpet in the latest fashion while the crowds – the onlookers  – cheer them.

The word ‘Oscar’ is a nickname. It is the name given to the statue – the gold plated, metal alloy statue. It weighs 8.5 pounds and 13.5 inches tall. The figure of the Oscar is a knight in armor standing on a film of reel with a sword in his hand.

The name ‘Oscar’, in a funny way, was named after Margaret Herrick’s uncle – Oscar. When she was a librarian working in the Academy, she casually commented about the looks of the statue. She said, “The statue of ‘The Academy Award of Merit’ looked like her uncle Oscar. Her comment on the statue suddenly became viral and the name she casually suggested was incorporated. From then on, i.e., in the early 1930, the name ‘Oscar’ was first introduced. In the beginning, the Oscars were made of bronze, and after several years, it was switched to Britannium alloy. The statue was created by Cedric Gibbons and George Stanley. Cedric was an art director working for MGM and George was a sculptor; together they designed and produced the first statue in 1928. It was called ‘The Academy Award of Merit’. Only in the early 1930, the word ‘Oscar’ was used – as a nickname – for the statue. For children, miniature Oscars was created to award them. This Academy – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science – that gives away ‘Oscar Awards’ every year, was formed in 1927. It was founded to promote and honor excellence in the field of movie making. Since 1927 this academy has been honoring extraordinary movie makers and their achievements. Directors, actors, producers, and other people of talents in arts and science can become a member of this academy. It is usually these members choose the winners every year by casting ballots. That’s why the winning actor or director thanks the academy with the usual “I would like to thank the Academy….”

When a movie is selected for the award, the entire crew gets the honor. Everyone involved is honored. There are around fifteen branches in the academy. Actors, directors, choreographers, writers, editors, producers, musicians, makeup artists, and various other people of talents in the movie-making industry become part the branches. Each branch member scrutinizes the movie and cast their votes. Finally, when the best of the movies are short-listed, the panel members decide. Once that is done, the awards are given away to best....

•Leading role actor and actress •Supporting role actor and actress •Art Direction •Costume Design •Film Editing •Scripts •Special Effects •Visual Effects •Music •Costume Design •Sound Effects •Directing •Best Film •Foreign Language Films

Only a few Indians have been honored with Oscars from 1983 to 2009. Can we expect some more oscars this time?

•In 1983, Bhanu Athaiya, a costume designer from the popular movie Gandhi, won Oscar for “Best Costume”.

•In 1992, “Life-time Achievement Award” was given to Satyajit Ray – a great filmmaker.

•In 2008, Resul Pookutty from Slumdog Millionaire won Oscar for “Best Sound Mixing”.

•In 2008, A.R. Rahman and Gulzar won Oscars for “Best Original Song” for the film Slumdog Millionaire.

In the months leading up to the actual ceremony of awards, many top studios and movie-makers spend tons of cash to publicize their movies.Some critics say that the influence of money and personal influence from the higher-ups in the academy have corrupted the Academy. In an effort to get their point across, some actors and directors, refused to accept the award on stage.

Here is a look at Oscar winning movies from the year 2000 to 2010:Entertainment Center