Academy Award

The Academy Awards are the most prominent film award in the United States. The Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary organization which as of 2002 had over 6000 members.

Academy Awards are nicknamed "Oscars", which is also the nickname of the statuette (the name is said to have been born when Margaret Herrick saw the statuette on a table and said: "It looks just like my uncle Oscar!"). The awards were first given at a banquet in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929.

The awards night itself is an elaborate extravaganza, with the invited guests walking up the red carpet in the creations of the most prominent fashion designers (who usually loan them to the stars to gain publicity). The awards ceremony is televised around the world.

The judging process and criteria for the awards themselves is the subject of much discussion. The Academy includes elderly and aesthetically conservative members. Certain genres of film, such as historical epics (and specifically ones about World War II), seem to appeal to the voters. There is also a wide belief that awards are given for "political" reasons – for instance, rewarding an artist whose career has included many good works but has not thus far received an Academy Award. Awards are given in many categories, including the following:

• Academy Award for Best Picture – 1928 to present

• Academy Award for Best Actor – 1928 to present

• Academy Award for Best Actress – 1928 to present

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – 1936 to present

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – 1936 to present

• Academy Award for Best Animated Feature – new category for 2001

• Academy Award for Best Art Direction – 1928 to present (also called Interior or Set Decoration)

• Academy Award for Best Assistant Director – 1933 to 1937

• Academy Award for Best Cinematography – 1928 to present

• Academy Award for Comedy Direction – 1928 only

• Academy Award for Costume Design – 1948 to present

• Academy Award for Best Dance Direction (1935–1937)

• Academy Award for Directing – 1928 to present

• Academy Award for Documentary Feature

• Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject

• Academy Award for Engineering Effects – 1928 only

• Academy Award for Film Editing – 1935 to present

• Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film – 1947 to present

• Academy Award for Makeup

• Academy Award for Original Music Score

• Academy Award for Best Song

• Academy Award for Animated Short Film – 1931 to present

• Academy Award for Best Short Film – Color (1936–1937)

• Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing – 1963 to present

• Academy Award for Best Story (1928–1956)

• Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production – 1928 only

• Academy Award for Visual Effects

• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay – 1928 to present

• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay – 1940 to present