25 Academy Awards Behind-The-Scenes Secrets That'll Make You Watch The Whole Show Differently
1.Shockingly, the Oscars red carpet isn't even a traditional "red"; it's actually more of a burgundy.
The LA Times reveals, "The carpet is closer to burgundy and has been for the last 15 years. The exclusive shade — called Academy Red — is supposed to flatter the A-list actors who are photographed and filmed walking on it. It’s a secret color, one whose precise specifications the show’s organizers won’t reveal for fear of copycats."
This specific color is also patented and doesn't appear on any other red carpet in the entire world.
2.Each nominee is given a complimentary pair of tickets, but additional tickets cost between $150-$1,000.
The main factor in determining the price depends on where the seats are located in the Dolby Theater.
3.The Vanity Fair Oscar Party is the most popular afterparty for those who attend the ceremony (and for those who don't, too) — tickets reportedly range from $25,000-$105,000.
4.All 25 nominees from the top individual categories receive a six-figure gift bag with several luxury items — this year's includes skincare products from Miage, luggage and flip-flops from Havaianas, hair restoration services from Bauman Medical, a silk pillowcase from Blush Silks, and a travel pillow from PETA.
The bag also includes additional gifts from brands like Ariadne Athens Skin Wellness, All Better Co., Kind Reason Co., KnowingLabs, Maison Construction, Rareté Studios, Oxygenetix, The Footcloud, The Millions-Billions-Trillions Brand, Good Girl Chocolate, Frontera Wines, Antigua Cruz Añejo Cristalino Tequila, and more.
5.The Oscar statuettes are made of solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold. They're also 13.5 inches tall and weigh 8.5 pounds.
According to the Academy Awards, the statuette is "a stylized figure of a knight holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers)."
6.Immediately after winners receive their Oscar, they must sign an agreement that states if they ever wish to sell their statuette, they must offer it to the Academy first for $1.
7.Michael Jackson actually holds the record for buying the most expensive Oscar statuette where he paid $1.5M for David O. Selznick's Best Picture award for Gone with the Wind. Unfortunately, the Oscar statuette has been missing since Jackson's death in 2009.
This award was won back in 1940 before the Academy's selling agreement came into play.
8.It takes 18 people and almost 900 hours of work to lay down the red carpet for the event.
Lynn Nichols, the West Coast regional sales manager for Signature Systems, told the LA Times, "There are road closures, there is heavy security…there is definitely a buzz in the air. We just block everything out — just do our job.”
9.There are 735 bleacher seats available for fans to watch celebrities walk the red carpet — fans are chosen through lottery, promotions, contests, and are sometimes friends and family members of attendees.
10.Back in 2000, Angelina Jolie got locked out of the ceremony the same year she won Best Supporting Actress.
She told Entertainment Tonight, "They said, 'We're sorry, the doors are locked.' I went around the back and tried to get in. Then, they had a commercial break, so I managed to run in, get to my seat, and literally had just sat down."
11.The Academy Awards nominees and winners are selected by the members of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, which has more than 6,000 members.
The entire membership votes for the Best Picture nominee, but the other categories are voted for by specific branches. For example, the actors' branch votes for Best Actor and Best Actress nominees. Then, for the final vote, the members go online to select the winners in every category, not just their branch.
12.When voting for the Academy Award nominees, people don't just vote for their favorite, they actually submit a list of their top five favorites ranked.
Then, the candidates who receive enough first-place rankings become nominees in that category.
13.While there's no cash prize for winning an Oscar, each Best Actor and Best Actress winner gets an estimated 20% boost on their pay for the next film.
14.Until the envelopes are opened on stage, only two people from PricewaterhouseCoopers (the company that tallies the votes) actually know who the winners are.
They also memorize all the winners just in case something goes awry with the envelopes (remember that La La Land/Moonlight Best Picture snafu?).
15.Walt Disney holds the record for most Oscars ever won; he received 26 Academy Awards during his lifetime.
16.The Dolby Theater has hosted the Oscars since 2001, and when you first walk in, all the Best Picture winners are engraved on the walls — there are even blank spots for future winners all the way until 2071.
17.Katharine Hepburn is the actor who currently holds the record for most Oscars won — she won Best Actress in 1934, 1968, 1969, and 1982.
Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Daniel Day-Lewis follow close behind with three awards each.
18.The night before the ceremony, there's a dress rehearsal where presenters, performers, and hosts show up and practice the entire awards show with stand-in winners, fake winners' envelopes, and plaster replicas of the statuettes.
While the presenters are allowed to wear street clothes, many of them opt to wear heels so they can practice walking onto the the stage.
19.For rehearsal purposes, fake winners' envelopes are made for every single nominee, and the presenter doesn't know which one they'll get to read at the rehearsal.
The real Oscar envelopes read, "The Oscar goes to [name of the winner]" but for rehearsals, the envelopes say, "The Oscar goes to, for this rehearsal only [name of winner]."
20.Back in 1973, Marlon Brando won Best Actor for his performance in The Godfather, but he refused the award and boycotted the ceremony.
He was protesting Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film and sent actor Sacheen Littlefeather to the ceremony in his place.
21.The seating arrangements are made with specific camera moments in mind. Directors and actors are often seated so other potential winners from the same movie will pass by them on the way to the stage.
22.There's also a seating area called "the mocked ones" that's saved for people who've been nominated several times but have yet to win.
23.Seat fillers are required to sign NDAs and basically be as low-key as possible, in an effort to draw little to no attention to themselves — they aren't allowed to talk to the celebrities unless spoken to.
A seat filler told THR, “Don’t do anything that makes you stand out to the camera. So, when you’re in the seat in the theater, be as professional and stoic as possible. Don’t draw attention to yourself in any way.”
24.There are nearly 200 award nameplates made for every nominee's name to factor in all the potential winners.
The winner will receive their nameplate and get it attached after the ceremony. All the unused nameplates are recycled.
25.And finally, a man once streaked onstage at the Academy Awards.
In 1974, during the 46th Academy Awards, a man named Robert Opel streaked across the stage flashing a peace sign...and a little bit more than that.
