Award Ceremonies and Film Festivals

Every year, there are a lot of events to go to if you are a movie addict. Unfortunately, most of the time you have to be invited to attain such an event. The good news is that, if you are not a famous actor, actress, director or producer, you’re always invited to read all about these events right here!

Film Festivals

Movie Awards

The Academy Awards are probably the most famous awards in the business. This event is held every year in Los Angeles. The Acadamy Awards are also called the Oscars and it’s the main national film award in the USA.

The Oscar statuette is made from the alloy* britannium and is then plated in copper, nickel, silver, and finally, 24-karat gold. The Oscar depicts* a knight, holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel* of film. The film reel features five spokes*, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers).

The Academy Awards ceremonies are commonly named after their according year of eligibility of films. For example, the ceremony which took place in March 2000 is referred to as the 1999 Academy Awards.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization composed of over 6,000 motion picture craftsmen and women. The purposes of the Academy are to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures; foster cooperation among creative leaders for cultural, educational and technological progress; recognize outstanding achievements; cooperate on technical research and improvement of methods and equipment; provide a common forum and meeting ground for various branches and crafts; represent the viewpoint of actual creators of the motion picture; and foster educational activities between the professional community and the public-at-large. The Academy's field of activity does not include economic, labor or political matters.

The Academy was organized in May, 1927, as a non-profit corporation chartered under the laws of California. Its original 36 members included production executives and film luminaries* of the time. Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., was the first president. Others have been William deMille, M. C. Levee, Conrad Nagel, J. Theodore Reed, Frank Lloyd, Frank Capra, Walter Wanger, Bette Davis, Jean Hersholt, Charles Brackett, George Seaton, George Stevens, B. B. Kahane, Valentine Davies, Wendell Corey, Arthur Freed, Gregory Peck, Daniel Taradash, Walter Mirisch, Howard W. Koch, Fay Kanin, Gene Allen, Robert E. Wise, Richard Kahn, Karl Malden and Arthur Hiller. Robert Rehme has been president since August 1997.

In 1946 the Academy moved into a building at 9038 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. In December of 1975, the Academy dedicated its new seven-story headquarters at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For the first time in the organization's history, the Players Directory, the Margaret Herrick Library, the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, its administrative offices and other facilities were all located under one roof. Within a decade, however, the rapid growth of the holdings of both the Herrick Library and the Film Archive had necessitated the search for a new, separate facility. In 1988, a 55-year lease was arranged with the City of Beverly Hills for the conversion of its historic Waterworks building in La Cienega Park into the new home of the Academy's film research facilities, now known as the Center for Motion Picture Study.

Membership in the Academy is by invitation of the Board of Governors and is limited to those who have achieved distinction in the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Some of the criteria for admittance are: film credits of a caliber which reflect the high standards of the Academy, receipt of an Academy Award nomination, achievement of unique distinction, earning of special merit, or making of an outstanding contribution to film. Members represent 13 branches - Actors, Art Directors, Cinematographers, Directors, Executives, Film Editors, Music, Producers, Public Relations, Short Films and Feature Animation, Sound, Visual Effects and Writers.

A candidate for membership in the Academy must be sponsored by at least two members of the branch for which the person may qualify. Each proposed member must first receive the favorable endorsement of the appropriate branch executive committee before his or her name is submitted to the Board of Governors for its approval. The Board of Governors also may invite to membership members-at-large and associate members. Members-at-large are those engaged in theatrical film production, but for whose craft there is no separate branch. They have all the privileges of branch membership except for representation on the Board. Associate members are those closely allied to the industry but not actively engaged in motion picture production. They are not represented on the Board and do not vote on Academy Awards. Life members are designated by unanimous vote of the Board of Governors and have full privileges of membership, but pay no dues.

Corporate management, control and general policies are administered by the Board of Governors. This group consists of three representatives from each of the 13 Academy craft branches. Governors are elected for three-year terms, with one representative from each branch being elected annually. This method assures a continuity of experience from year to year. Officers are elected from the Board for one-year terms. They include a president, first vice president, two vice presidents, treasurer and secretary. No member of the Board of Governors may serve more than three consecutive three-year terms and no officer may serve more than four consecutive one-year terms in the same office.

Administrative activities of the Academy are conducted under the supervision of an executive director who is appointed by the Board of Governors. Bruce Davis, Executive Director, and his staff of 138 conduct the day-to-day business of the Academy.

The operating revenues of the Academy are obtained from membership dues, rental of its theater to film companies for press previews and other special screenings, publication of the Players Directory, the sale of rights to behind the annual Academy Awards Presentation and from other special programs.

You can find more about this event on the official websites:

http://www.oscar.com

http://www.oscar.org

Starting with an Oscar Night ceremony so small it was actually staged in a living room alcove, The Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards have grown into what The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards now call “the most widely publicized bad movie awards”. Annually presenting dis-honors for worst achievements in film since 1980 in categories ranging from the obvious (Worst Picture, Actor and Actress) to the obtuse (Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Screen Couple) The Razzies today receive television, radio and newspaper coverage around the world. Their yearly bestowing* of Tinsel Town’s tackiest* trophies is regularly covered by all three major worldwide wire services (AP, UPI and Reuters) CNN, major market TV network affiliates across the U.S. and on nationwide ABC, NBC and CBS Network Radio news. They also receive print coverage in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Premiere and People-on-Line Magazines. It has been estimated that the worldwide audience annually exposed to information about The Razzies is about half a billion people.

Founded by John JB Wilson, author of the book Everything I Know I Learned At The Movies and a lifelong cine-maniac and cynic, The Razzies are a light-hearted parody of award shows in general (and The Oscars in particular). The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation's well-aimed darts of derision* have always been directed at Hollywood’s high profile humiliations (rather than at the easier target of low-budget/drive-in fare). Worst Picture Dis-Honorees to date have included such big budget B.O. (box office) bombs as Howard The Duck, Hudson Hawk and Leonard Part 6, as well as such certified camp* classics as Mommie Dearest, Showgirls and Pia Zadora’s The Lonely Lady. “Winners” of Razzie Awards for what they would argue was acting range from such highly regarded but project-misguided stars as Bill Cosby, Kevin Costner and Laurence Olivier to such top name but talent-challenged performers as Madonna, Burt Reynolds, Prince, Brooke Shields, Bo Derek, Razzie poster child Pia Zadora and all-time Razzie champion (with an impressive 8 wins and a staggering 21 nominations...to date!) Sylvester Stallone.

Poised* to prick the movie industry’s pomp* for as long as Hollywood keeps on making high-profile howlers, The Razzies are now looking forward to their 20th Annual Ceremonies in the year 2000 for which special dis-honors for the worst achievements in film for the entire 20th century are being planned.

Worst Actor – From Sylvester Stallone to Laurence Olivier

The Razzie’s Worst Actor “Winners” haven’t all been no talent losers like Stallone – Among them are several surprises, including Bill Cosby (Leonard Part 6) and two-time Razzee Kevin Costner (Robin Hood: Prince Of ‘Dweebs*’ and Wyatt Earp). This category covers The Worst Actors : big movie stars who can't act (like Burt Reynolds), great actors in lousy roles (like Olivier in Inchon!) and “instant stars” from the world of pop music who should be legally barred from the screen (like Neil Diamond in The Jazz Singer and Prince in any movie he’s ever made). From “stars” everyone loves to hate (like Andrew Dice Clay) to actors so bad everyone’s already forgotten them (i.e. Klinton Spilsbury (?)) The Razzies have dis-honored some of the silver screen’s silliest career mistakes and most epically embarrassing performances.

Worst Actress – Bo, Pia, Brooke, Madonna and Mommie Dearest

The lamest dames in the cinema firmament take their lumps in this category, covering more than a decade and a half of distaff* dis-honors in a category dominated by “repeat offenders”. Whether they just don’t pick good scripts, they’re gluttons* for a good Razzing or they truly aren’t capable of anything better, five women have so overshadowed this category their annual inclusion should by now be automatic: Faye (Mommie Dearest) Dunaway, muddle-headed* model Brooke Shields, material mom-to-be Madonna, the woman who rates “looks: 10, IQ... 10” Bo Derek and Razzie poster child Pia Zadora. Other “winners” include those whose only “honors” have been Razzies (scream queen Linda Blair and Showgirls’ Elizabeth Berkley) as well as Oscar favorites Liza Minnelli and Sharon Stone.

Worst Picture – That Hawk Hudson, a Duck named Howard and a place called “Inchon”

Like the cinematic stinkers the Razzies exist to dis-honor, “winners” of Worst Picture run the gamut* of truly tacky Tinsel Town output. In their first three quarters of a score* years, the Razzies have consistently let rip their biggest Berries at undeniable under-achievers, including classic misfires like Howard The Duck and Can’t Stop The Music, and bad movies with blood lines traceable to reverend Moon (Inchon!) Bruce Willis (Hudson Hawk and Color Of Night) and John Derek’s inexplicable need to make us all voyeurs of his vacuous* wife (Ghosts Can’t Do It). But not every worst picture was also a box office failure. B.O. bad flicks* that “won” include Cocktail, Rambo II and Indecent Proposal.