It’s that time of year for me – I am getting excited and trying to watch great films that I haven’t seen yet. Yes, it is almost time for the 83rd annual Academy Awards ceremony, which will be held this Sunday. Until then, how about a little trivia?
1. Who won the very first Oscar?
German actor Emil Jannings was the first person to physically receive a Best Actor Oscar in 1929 for his performances in both The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command. However, he didn’t get his Oscar during the ceremony. He had decided to return to Germany and was handed it beforehand.
2. Has an X-rated film every won an Oscar?
Yes, but not THAT type of X-rated film. Midnight Cowboy starred Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman and took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It got its initial X-rating for its nude scenes, sex, and drugs. Back in 1969, these parts of the film were shocking – when it was re-released in late 1970, the rating was changed to R.
3. Have there been any brother/sister winners?
Yes, Ethel and Lionel Barrymore both won acting Oscars, she for None but the Lonely Heart in 1944 and he for A Free Soul in 1931. Although she didn’t win, brother/sister combo Francis Ford Coppola and Talia Shire both received Oscar nods for The Godfather Part II. He won Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
4. Are all winning films new films?
Not always. In 1952, Charlie Chaplin released Limelight. However, according to Academy stipulations at the time, the film was not eligible for nomination because it had played at a theater in Los Angeles. This was probably a planned snub because Chaplin had into exile in 1952 after being named a suspected communist by J. Edgar Hoover and having his re-entry to the country permit revoked by the Immigration and Naturalization Service after he and his family traveled to England. Twenty years, it finally played in LA and at the 1973 ceremonies; the film won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.
In addition, Jessica Lange won a Best Actress award for Blue Sky in 1994, a film that had sat without release since 1990 due to the bankruptcy of Orion Pictures.