Story of The Oscars

Last month, the film of The Lord of The Rings won 11 Oscars in Hollywood. But what is the story of the Oscars? When did they start?

In the 1920s, actors and writers in America thought movie films were toys for children. Plays and the theatres in New York were important and artistic. Movies were not serious and artistic.

In Hollywood actors, directors and writers started the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 1929, the Academy started giving awards for good work. The award was a statue of a man holding a sword. The man stands on a reel of film. The statue is 12 inches high and it is covered with gold.

In 1929, the first awards were given to the German actor Emil Jannings, the actress Janet Gaynor, the Warner Brothers’ Studio for the first sound film The Jazz Singer and Charlie Chaplin for his film The Circus.

Why are these awards called Oscars? There are many different stories. One story is that Margaret Herrick who worked in the library of the Academy said that it looked like her Uncle Oscar.

In 1939, Gone With the Wind won 13 Oscars. One of these Oscars was for the black actress Hattie McDaniel. She was the first black person to win an Oscar. In 1982, Richard Attenborough’s film about the life of Gandhi won eight Oscars. In 1994 Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks won six Oscars and in 1997 Titanic won eleven Oscars. There were also 3 Oscars for the film Rain Man.

If you enjoyed this Dossier, why not try this great Penguin Reader by Vicky Shipton:
The Oscars (level 3)
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