Jazmin Grimaldi has said she feels a ‘special connection’ to her grandmother Grace Kelly after visiting the Oscar museum in Los Angeles.

The actress daughter of Prince Albert of Monaco, 32, paid tribute to the relative she never met in a sweet Instagram post on Sunday, before heading to Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscars party.

Grace died in a car crash ten years before Jazmin was born, meaning the pair never got to meet.

Taking to Instagram,  Grace shared a video of herself posing with an Oscar statue next to a clip of Grace picking up her Best Actress Oscar in 1954.

‘I recently visited the Academy Museum this Oscar season in Los Angeles,’ she wrote.

‘I couldn’t help but feel a special connection with my Grandmother Grace Kelly while walking through the museum and being able to hold an Oscar for this special yet comedic photo opportunity. 

‘Grace was an official Academy Award winning actress in 1955 for her role in Country Girl at the 27th Oscars! Here we are 69 years later. 

‘Happy Oscar season and congratulations to all the hardworking artists! You are all winners in my eyes,’ she added.

Jazmin then shared a series of snaps from Elton John’s Oscars party where she stunned in a black and lace dress and posed with her longterm partner Ian Mellencamp.

Jazmin is the love child of Albert of Monaco and Tamara Jean Rotolo, she is not in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne due to being born our of wedlock. Her mother, Tamara Jean Rotolo, was waitress at the time she met Prince Albert.

She grew up in Palm Desert, California, and when she was younger her mother would reportedly show her pictures of her paternal grandmother – Grace Kelly – an American film actress and Princess of Monaco, and Albert’s mother.

‘One of my first and fondest memories involving my grandmother was watching’ she told Harpers Bazar in 2015, speaking of the 1956 musical, in which Kelly starred alongside Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

‘It was the first time I realized we had a connection. I’m passionate about acting, singing, and dancing,’ adds Jazmin. ‘I saw that in her in this movie. It was a real goose-bumps moment for me.’

While she is not in line to the throne, her father has said that his children will be taken care of financially, and stand to inherit part of his personal fortune through be more than $1 billion.

Despite her mother being open about her lineage, she did not connect with her father until she was 11 – visiting Monaco for the first time, saying she has enjoyed a great relationship with him ever since, and says she has developed a bond with Albert and his wife – Princess Charlene.

According to Article 10 of Monaco’s constitution, out-of-wedlock children are not in the line of succession to the principality’s throne. It specifies that only ‘direct descendants’ of Monaco’s monarch or siblings may inherit it.

Extramarital children are common among the ruling family of Monaco, with ever Grimaldi generation for 100 years acknowledging a child that did not have legitimacy of birth.

Some of those children have gained succession right through legitimization or adoption – including Princess Charlotte – but Jazmin could not have been legitimized because her mother’s divorce proceedings were not finalized by the time of her birth – and therefore even the subsequent marriage of her biological parents would not have been enough.

Furthermore, in 2002 Albert’s father Prince Rainer III (and Grace Kelly’s husband) made obtaining succession rights through adoption impossible with a modification to the constitution.

Her first on-screen performance was a role as a cashier in the TV series ‘Jay & Pluto’ in 2016, and in December 2019, she released her first single titled ‘Fearless’.

In January, French publication Le Monde alleged that the royal spends millions every year from a secret French bank account to pay his former mistresses and love children – with Jazmin Grace and her half-brother Alexandre Coste-Grimaldi receiving allowances of $344,000 (around £270,132.88) a year each.

In November, the socialite also put up pictures from a lush holiday to Italy’s Lake Como – beloved by the world’s rich and famous – posing up a storm by an outdoor pool overlooking stunning scenery.

Earlier that month she’d also enjoyed a flashy trip to Vegas as well as a fun weekend  in Memphis. 

She also appeared to spend much of the summer in Europe, the South of France and Monaco, sharing scenic views and photos of herself enjoying fine food and wine, sporting beautiful dresses and enjoying the sun and sea.

In other posts, Jazmin has also publicised her support for the SAG-AFTRA strike last year, although her acting career is still very much in its infancy. 

Her roles include an uncredited part as a casino girl in one episode of  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in 2019, although she does appear as Angie Bowie in the upcoming Idris Elba production The Chelsea Cowboy. 

She also has two singles out – one called Fearless and another titled Thankful. It is also understood that Jazmin is involved with charity work.

In 2006 she set up The Jazmin Fund which helps people across villages in Fiji. In 2016, the organisation helped Naidi village with funds after a Cyclone devastated the region.

In 2022, it was reported that Jazmin had snagged a $3.3 million home in the Hollywood Hills.

According to Tatler, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom property featured stunning views of the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign. Her famous neighbours were said to include Winona Ryder and Felicity Huffman.

Albert, 65, who is worth around $1billion, also brought his daughter a $3million flat in New York when she was 25. It is not clear if she still resides there.

Jazmin’s mother Tamara, she met Albert while holidaying on the Cote D’Azur in 1991. They enjoyed a two-week fling which resulted in the birth of Jazmin in 1992, but the baby was kept secret from the public until 2006. 

A friend of her mother Tamara’s said in 2005: ‘Tamara was from a very ordinary, working-class background and had decided to go on one big holiday to Monaco. Albert was quite infatuated with her.

‘They were together pretty much every day and night and, after her two weeks were up, he asked her to stay on.

‘She told him, “I have to get back to my job”. This was reality-check time.

‘To her surprise, Albert did not forget her. He kept in touch by phone and she could contact him in a heart- beat, wherever he was in the world. The wall came down after Prince Rainier found out.

‘All contact was cut off. First she was hurt, then she got mad and decided to go to court.’

In 1993, a judge ordered Albert to provide a blood sample to settle the paternity case. But Albert’s high-powered attorneys went back to court to argue that California law had no power to order the sample. A judge agreed and ruled that the case could not go to trial.

Albert neither confirmed nor denied that he was Jazmin’s father. He acknowledged in court papers: ‘I was briefly acquainted with the plaintiff when she was on vacation in Monaco in July 1991.’

But the death of Prince Rainier more than ten years later, coupled with Nicole’s revelation, proved to be the catalyst for fresh negotiations for lawyers and, in the summer of 2006, a year after the first love child bombshell, Prince Albert formally recognised Jazmin as his daughter.

A royal spokesman said at the time: ‘We can assure everyone that there are no more hidden children. This is the last one.’

Both children now carry the Grimaldi name, and while they can never accede to the throne they will be able to make a financial claim when he dies.

Talking about meeting her father for the first time when she was 11, Jazmin said in 2015: ‘I wanted that moment to connect with my father, to get to know him, and to have him get to know me.

‘Not having had that figure around, I missed that. It’s wonderful that it happened when it did, and we’ve been enjoying a great relationship ever since.’

Jazmin revealed her close relationship with her half-brother Alexandre as she marked his 18th birthday in a sweet Instagram post.

She shared a series of Instagram posts from his birthday party in 2021, writing: ‘It’s a celebration. Happy birthday my little brother Alexandre!’

And last year, Prince Albert posed with his two children by former lovers for the first time.

The extraordinary picture, taken in New York, was shared online by his ex, Nicole. Wearing an open-necked shirt, the Prince has his arm around Jazmin who had her arm around Alexandre. 

It comes as Jazmin Grimaldi sparked speculation she may have married her partner of eight year Ian Mellencamp after her shared a video of her in what appeared to be a wedding dress.

A video, posted to Instagram, showed the couple on their travels around the world, including putting a love lock on a bridge, celebrating Valentine’s Day and various hikes across the US.

And in one shot, the actress holds on to her dog Frankie Bleu by a poolside and appears to be wearing a white wedding gown.

Her hair is styled in a classic updo, while she dons sparkling jewellery to pose amid a stunning vista, not unlike many wedding venues.

In another shot, she appears to be wearing a ring on her engagement finger.

 

Best photo

American fiction

Anatomy of a fall

Barbie

The survivors

Killers of the Flower Moon

Master

Oppenheimer – WINNER

Past lives

Poor things

The zone of interest

Best director

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a fall

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer – WINNER

Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor things

Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

Actress in a leading role

Annette Bening, Nyad

Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan, master

Emma Stone, Poor Things – WINNER

Actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper, master

Colman Domingo, Rustin

Paul Giamatti, The Remains

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer – WINNER

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Actress in a supporting role

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

America Ferrera, Barbie

Jodie Foster, Nyad

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers – WINER

Actor in a supporting role

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer – WINNER

Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

Animation film

The Boy and the Heron – WINNER

Elementary

Nimona

Robot dreams

Spider-Man: About the Spider-Verse

Cinematography

El Conde

Killers of the Flower Moon

Master

Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema – WINNER

Poor things

Original screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari – WINNER

The Remains, David Hemingson

Maestro, Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer

May December, Samy Burch (Story b Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)

Past Lives, Celine Song

Adapted scenario

American Fiction, Cord Jefferson – WINNER

Barbie, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan

Poor things, Tony McNamara

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

Achievement in production design

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things, Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek – WINNER

Ben Kingsley’s wife made a stunning appearance on the red carpet as she donned a figure-hugging silver dress at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles tonight.

Daniela Lavender, 49, was effortlessly elegant in the flowing dress as she attended showbiz’s most prestigious night with her husband.

The Brazilian actress wore her sleek auburn hair straight and past her shoulders.

She opted for a glamorous yet understated makeup look with dewy skin and accessorized with glitzy jewelry, shoes and a clutch.

Ben, 80, looked dapper in a black suit and white shirt, but matched his wife’s glamorous aesthetic with a silver floral pin.

The couple first met in Hollywood and married in 2007 in a beautiful country house ceremony in Oxfordshire.

Many had doubted whether their relationship would last as the actor revealed he was ‘too busy’ to go on his honeymoon.

However, he assured that the couple were ‘extremely happy’, saying at the time: ‘Daniela is like an ancient mythological princess. She has great, deep dignity. She moves like an ocean liner.”

Ben, who is best known for playing the title role in the 1982 film Gandhi, has been married three times before and is the father of four children.

He shares Thomas and Jasmin with his first wife Angela Morant, and sons Edmund and Ferdinand with theater director Alison Sutcliffe, whom he divorced in 1992.

The Sexy Beast star then married Alexandra Christmann in 2003 but was left ‘deeply, deeply shocked’ when pictures of her kissing another man appeared online – leading to their divorce two years later.

The red carpet for the 96th Academy Awards kicked off in style on Sunday, with the world’s biggest stars descending on Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles in their most glamorous looks.

Margot Robbie, who starred as iconic character Barbie in last summer’s biggest blockbuster, swapped pink for a tight black dress – as she stunned on the red carpet.

Ariana Grande dazzled in a voluminous custom pink Giambatista Valli Haute Couture gown – following her triumphant return to music with her new album Eternal Sunshine and her upcoming role in Wicked.

Zendaya looked stunning in a black and pink sparkly one-shoulder look as she turned heads on the red carpet.

Jennifer Lawrence dazzled in a black and white polka dot while Lupita Nyong’o donned a baby blue dress with fringe accents and added a statement three-dimensional gold bag.

Emma Stone dazzled in a striking strapless white dress, while Oppenheimer star Emily Blunt dazzled in a shimmering cream and silver gown, complete with a layered diamond necklace.

America Ferrera, who starred in the blockbuster Barbie, channels the iconic character in a bright pink, figure-hugging number.

Vanessa Hudgens used the event as the place to announce she was pregnant as she showed off her baby bump in a tight black dress.

Days ago, she lashed out at people who said she might be pregnant. On the March 6 episode of the She Pivots podcast, she told people to stop talking about her body.

“I literally just had a run-in with the public taking control of their opinion of me in a way that was disrespectful,” Hudgens said, recalling how her social media posts during her bachelorette getaway in October drew comments calling her theorized that she was pregnant.

Eva Longoria also opted – just like Jamie Lee Curtis – for an elegant black dress.

Issa Rae showed off her toned figure in a plunging black sequin dress as she made a striking entrance to Hollywood’s biggest night.

Dancing With The Stars fame Julianne Hough donned a dramatic strapless jumpsuit with a beaded top and wide white legs.

Brittany Snow couldn’t be missed in a strapless canary yellow dress with a cute sweetheart neckline. She rose to fame for her role as Susan Daisy Lemay on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light and is best known for her Pitch Perfect films.

The show honors the best films of 2023.

The most highly anticipated films of the past year – Barbie and Oppenheimer – leading the nominations.

Oppenheimer has scooped 13 awards, including best film and best actor for Cillian Murphy – who is favorite to win the main category after winning a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG award for his role as physicist J .Robert Oppenheimer.

The impressive total – which also includes best supporting actor and actress for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, as well as Best Director for Christopher Nolan – is just one nomination short of the all-time record set by Titanic in 1998.

Last year’s other big hit film, Barbie, was nominated for eight awards, but also fell victim to notable criticism from the Academy.

Ryan Gosling brought his favorite Oscars date to the red carpet tonight: his older sister Mandi, along with their mother Donna and stepfather Valerio Attanasio.

Mandi – who also attended the prestigious awards with her brother when he received the Best Actor nomination in 2017 – made a glamorous appearance at the Academy Awards in a gold dress adorned with black houndstooth detailing.

The fitted silhouette has a deep neckline and a fitted waist.

She threw her blonde locks in a half-updo and added dangling dainty earrings to complete the look.

Mandi, a Toronto-based producer and journalist, also stood by Ryan’s side at the 2006 Gotham Awards and the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In July, she shared a video of the sibling on her Barbie red carpet Instagramshe wrote, “I always say I won the sibling lottery and this is just one of countless examples – they’re generally not that public!

‘Thank you Internet for all your kind words! There was so much joy and #kenergy at this event, I thought my whole heart would burst with how proud I am of what Ryan brings to the world and it’s so sweet how he shares the excitement of his world with me.”

Their mother was equally sophisticated in a chic black dress with a cut-out neckline and slit, paired with silver heels.

In an ode to Barbie – where her son’s achievements as Ken are celebrated – she clutched a bright pink clutch.

Elsewhere, Valerio looked dapper in a black suit and bow tie. Ryan, 43, channeled his Kenergy and went for a monochrome aesthetic in a simple blazer, shirt and pants, but added a pair of bright pink socks.

Meanwhile, his partner Eva Mendes showed her support ahead of his performance at the star-studded 2024 Oscars.

The 50-year-old actress shared a video on Instagram of her posing outside Ryan’s dressing room, although she opted to skip the red carpet.

“Always by my man,” the mother of two – who has been dating Ryan since they met on the set of their 2012 film The Place Beyond the Pines – captioned it.

In the video, Eva wore a denim look, including a distressed jacket and a button-up denim skirt. She completed the outfit with a black baseball cap and gold hoops.

Ryan is set to take the stage and perform the Oscar-nominated Barbie song “I’m Just Ken” at the 96th Academy Awards. He is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Barbie is in the running for an Oscar for Best Picture.

Eva also shared a photo of herself on her Instagram Stories and wrote in Spanish, “Siempre con mi hombre,” which means “Always by my husband.”

Meanwhile, Ryan looked handsome as ever in a black Gucci suit with silver detailing.

The actor walked the red carpet with his sister Mandi Gosling. Mandi wowed in a black and gold houndstooth dress.

In January, Eva defended Ryan over his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, following backlash from fans.

Eva posted a bubbly message to her Instagram, describing her pride and the ‘Not My Ken’ taunts he endured in the lead-up to Barbie’s release.

“So proud of my husband,” she said.

“So much hate when he took on this role. So many people are trying to shame him for doing this. Despite all the #Notmyken mockery and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious, heartbreaking, now iconic character and took it all the way to the Oscars. I’m so proud to be Ken’s Barbie.’

Ryan was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role, but controversially, lead actor Margot and director Greta did not receive individual nods.

Ryan issued a statement expressing his anger that the Academy had overlooked his female colleagues, but failed to give up his nomination in protest.

He began his statement by expressing gratitude for his nomination, saying, “I am deeply honored to have been nominated by my peers alongside such remarkable artists in a year with so many great films.”

“And I never thought I’d say this, but I’m also incredibly honored and proud that it is for portraying a plastic doll named Ken.”

The actor then expressed his disappointment that Margot and Greta were not nominated, before praising them for their work on the film.

“Against all odds, with nothing but a few soulless, scantily clad and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, broke our hearts, pushed the culture and made history,” he added.

Finally, he congratulated co-star America Ferrera, who received the Best Supporting Actress award.

“That said, I’m so happy for America Ferrera and the other incredible artists who contributed their talents to make this such a groundbreaking film,” Ryan said.

Barbie was released in July and grossed a record $1.45 billion at the global box office, and $636 million domestically.

The blockbuster received a total of eight Oscar nominations, although Greta failed to land a Best Director nomination this year, and Margot, who played the title character, was also passed over for Best Lead Actress.

The 96th Academy Awards honors the best films of 2023 – with a glittering ceremony at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

The most highly anticipated films of the past year – Barbie and Oppenheimer – lead the nominations.

Oppenheimer has scooped 13 awards, including best film and best actor for Cillian Murphy – who is favorite to win the main category after winning a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG award for his role as physicist J .Robert Oppenheimer.

The impressive total – which also includes best supporting actor and actress for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, as well as Best Director for Christopher Nolan – is just one nomination short of the all-time record set by Titanic in 1998.

Last year’s other big hit film, Barbie, was nominated for eight awards.

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10 at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT live on ABC, hosted for the fourth time by Jimmy Kimmel.

Robert Downey Jr. finally won the illusive Oscar in the Actor in a Supporting Role category for Oppenheimer after host Jimmy Kimmel made a very awkward quip about his drug use.

The 58-year-old veteran actor – who has acted for over five decades –  took home the Academy Award over stiff competition including Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction, Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon, Ryan Gosling, Barbie, and Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things.

The talented star took to the podium to showcase his signature wit and even joked about his ‘terrible childhood’ while accepting the honor.

He said: ‘Thank you, thank you. Ah — thanks, Sam, thanks, fellas. You only flubbed one line. I’d like to thank my terrible childhood and The Academy, in that order.

‘I’d like to thank my — veterinarian — I meant wife, Susan Downey over there. She found me a snarling rescue pet and you loved me back to life. That’s why I’m here. Thank you.’

The talented actor went on talk about how much he needed his role in Oppenheimer while thanking director Christopher Nolan and castmates Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy.

He continued: ‘Here’s my little secret. I needed this job more than it needed me. Chris knew it, Emma made sure that she surrounded me with one of the great casts and crews of all time, Emily, Cillian, it was fantastic. 

‘And I stand here before you a better man because of it. What we do is meaningful, and the stuff that we decide to make is important. So, back to my publicist — my agent, Phillip Raskin is here and Andrew Dunlap, my den mother joy Feeley, thank you. 

‘I want to thank my stylist, in case no one else does. Thanks, Erika, thank you very much. And I’m just going to say this. My entertainment lawyer Tom Hanson, or 40 years, the half of which he spent trying to get me insured and bailing me out, thanks, bro. Avery in India, this one’s for you.’

One noticeable omission from his acceptance speech was Mel Gibson who he has previously credited with his comeback when he helped him land a role in 2003’s The Singing Detective.

Gibson’s, now 68, fall from grace began in 2006, when the actor was pulled over for speeding. After the police on the scene found an open bottle of alcohol in Gibson’s vehicle, the Braveheart actor launched into an angry tirade filled with anti-Semitic slurs and sexist overtones towards the arresting officer.

In a police report leaked by TMZ, Gibson allegedly shouted to the arresting officers: ‘“F*****g Jews. . . The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.’

Gibson issued apologies through his publicist and in an interview with Diane Sawyer, during which he described his behavior on the night of his arrest as ‘despicable.’

The actor/director later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge and was sentenced to three years probation.

It may not have been a wise decision to thank Gibson who famously used those anti-Semitic  slurs as Oppenheimer follows the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb which was used during World War II amid the Holocaust.

 In Oppenheimer Downey Jr portrays as Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss, a retired Naval officer and high-ranking member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

Earlier in the evening, Jimmy Kimmel roasted Robert’s manhood and past drug use in his bombshell opening monologue.

The host, 56, returning for the fourth time, left the A-listers grinning and cringing in equal measure as he took to the stage.

Downey Jr. 58, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer was stony-faced as Kimmel made a crass joke at the start of the ceremony – referring to the reformed coke addict’s past addictions.

He said: ‘And Robert Downey Jr., one of the highest points of his career. But Robert has been’ – as RDJ pointed at his face, leading Kimmel to add: ‘Was that too on the nose or a drug motion you made?

‘But look at him, he’s so handsome, so talented, he’s won every award there is to win. Is that an acceptance speech in your pocket or do you just have a very rectangular penis?’

The joke fell flat as RDJ looked somber while staring at the camera while fans slammed Kimmel for his ‘bottom of the barrel’ jokes about substance abuse.

Downey Jr. had previously spent time behind bars in 1999 after a long period of substance abuse which stifled his career.

He added: ’20 years ago, Robert played the villain, and correct me if I have this wrong, in a movie where Tim Allen turns into a dog, right? And if you ever decide to remake that film, I have just the guy to play Tim Allen. 

The actor’s legal troubles began in 1996 when he was stopped for speeding and authorities found of heroin, cocaine and an unloaded .357 caliber Magnum. A year later, he skipped a court-ordered drug test and spent nearly four months in the Los Angeles County jail.

Following this, he then skipped another drug test and was sentenced to three years of prison in 1999. During this time, Downey Jr. served 15 months in state prison in Corcoran, California.

A few months after his release, he was arrested on Thanksgiving weekend for alleged cocaine and Valium possession and being under the influence of drugs.

The valium charge was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor, he pleaded no contest to the remaining charges and avoided more jail time.

In 2001, he was found walking bare foot around Culver City, Los Angeles, and was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.

Following year of substance abuse, arrests, rehabs and relapse, Downey made a full recovery and has since gone on to achieve global recognition.

Moments later, the film also earned the coveted honor Outstanding Film Editing as Jennifer Lame took home her first Academy Award.

The film dominated the visual categories as Hoyte van Hoytema also took home Outstanding Cinematography. 

Da’Vine Joy Randolph emotionally kicked off the Oscars as she broke into tears as she earned the coveted Actress in a Supporting Role for The Holdovers.

The talented 37-year-old actress beat out stiff competition including Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple, America Ferrera, Barbie, and Jodie Foster, Nyad.

She had tears running down her face as she earned a standing ovation for her crowning moment as she began her speech by saying: ‘God is so good. God is so good. 

‘You know — I — I didn’t think I was supposed to be doing this as a career. I started off as a singer, and my mother said to me, go across that street to that theater department, there’s something for you there. And I thank my mother for doing that. 

‘I thank you to all the people who have stepped in my path and have been there for me, who has ushered me and guided me. I am so grateful to all you beautiful people out here. For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different, and now, I realize, I just need to be myself. And I thank you. I thank you for seeing me.’

Da’vine definitely did not forget where she comes from as she thanked her acing coach Ron Van Lieu.

She said: ‘Ron, I thank you. When I was the only Black girl in that class, when you saw me and you told me I was enough, and when I told you, I don’t see myself, you said, that’s fine, we’re going to forge our own path. You’re going to lay a trail for yourself. I’m so grateful to all the women who have been by my side, Colleen, Barbara, Tracy Brennan, Sarah Fargo. 

‘I have to give a special shoutout to my publicist. I know you said don’t say anything about your publicist, but you don’t have a publicist like mine. I’m forever grateful. I pray to god that I get to do this more than once. I thank you for seeing me. Have a blessed night. Thank you so much.’

In the film she portrays Mary Lamb who is the head cook at Barton Academy boarding school and is a bereaved mother. 

Da’Vine has proved to be unbeatable as she also earned major Awards Season wins at the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globes, and Critics’ Choice Awards.

Cord Jefferson won in one of the most contentious categories Adapted Screenplay for his brilliant work on American Fiction.

The 42-year-old writer and director beat out Barbie, Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan, Poor Things, Tony McNamara, and The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer.

During his acceptance speech Cord said: ‘that worked on the film. I’ve been talking a lot about how many people passed on this movie in discussing it, and I worry sometimes that sounds vindictive. I don’t want to be vindictive, I’m not a vindictive person anymore, I’ve worked really hard not to be, and it’s more a plea. A plea to acknowledge and recognize that there are so many people out there that want the opportunity that I was given.’

Original Screenplay was earned by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari for critically-acclaimed film Anatomy of a Fall. 

The duo beat out an impressive field including: The Holdovers, David Hemingson, Maestro, Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, May December, Samy Burch (Story b Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik), and Past Lives, Celine Song.

The Zone Of Interest from The United Kingdom earned International Feature Film over Io Capitano, Italy, Perfect Days, Japan, Society of the Snow, Spain, and The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany. 

The second award of the night was Animated Short Film and it was given to  WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko.

Sean Ono Lennon made sure to give a special shoutout at the end of his speech for mom Yoko as he said: ‘Thank you, my mother turned 91 this February, and today is mother’s day in the UK, so, could everyone please say happy mother’s day, Yoko? Thank you so much. Thank you.’

Early in the show, the crew from Poor Things earned a trio of awards. 

Make-up and Hairstyling went to Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston for their work on the Yorgos Lanthimos flick.

Poor Things also won Outstanding Achievement in Production Design as James Price and Shona Heath were recognized for Production design while Zsuzsa Mihalek earned it for Set Decoration. 

The film also earned the coveted award for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design as Holly Waddington was recognized.

Visual Effects was taken home by Godzilla Minus One with Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima earning the honor.

 The team beat out impressive teams including The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Napoleon.

The 96th Academy Awards honors the best films of 2023 – with the glittering ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. 

The most hotly anticipated movies of the past year – Barbie and Oppenheimer – lead the nominations. 

Oppenheimer has bagged 13 nods, including best picture and best actor for Cillian Murphy – who is favorite to win the major category after scooping a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and SAG award for his role as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The impressive total – which also includes best supporting actor and actress for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, as well as best director for Christopher Nolan – is just one nomination short of the all-time record set by Titanic in 1998.

Last year’s other smash hit movie – Barbie – was nominated for eight awards, but also fell victim to notable snubs from the Academy.

Its star Margot Robbie was not nominated for best actress, while Greta Gerwig was not nominated for best director.

Another surprise saw America Ferrera nominated for best supporting actress over her role in Barbie, with pundits saying her character’s impassioned speech on feminism had sealed the deal. 

Barbie’s other nominations include best picture, best supporting actor for Ryan Gosling and two nods for best song – including Gosling’s famed ‘I’m Just Ken.’ 

The second most-nominated movie was Poor Things, a graphic art house movie starring Emma Stone that has wowed critics but so-far failed to set the box office alight.

Stone plays a sex-crazed young woman, with her performance wowing critics. She previously won best actress in 2017 for her performance in La La Land. 

For best actor in leading role Bradley Cooper and Cillian Murphy are set to duke it out for the award. Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright received nominations as well.

Leonardo DiCaprio was not recognized for his acting on Killers Of The Flower Moon.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things took home 11 Oscar nominations and Killers of the Flower Moon landed 10.

Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Huller, Carey Mulligan and Emma Stone have been nominated for best actress in a leading role.

Gladstone is the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – and is the favorite in the category thanks to her wins at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards,

What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish and I’m Just Ken performed by Ryan Gosling from Barbie received their expected nominations for best original song. 

Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling and Mark Ruffalo received nominations for best actor in a supporting role.

Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster and Da’Vine Joy Randolph received nominations for best actress in a supporting role.

Joy already has  Golden Globe, Bafta, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards and is favorite for an Oscar for her performance as a bereaved cook in The Holdovers.

Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were nominated for best directing, snubbing Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. 

Gerwig was nominated for best director in 2018 for her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird. Only three women have won Oscars for best director – Kathryn Bigelow, Chloe Zhao and Jane Campion.

Though Nolan is regarded as the big-budget auteur of his era, he’s never won an Academy Award, nor have any of his films won best picture. 

Bradley Cooper was not nominated for directing Maestro but he was recognized for his acting in that bio movie.

American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest landed best picture nominations.  

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10 at 7 pm ET/4pm PT live on ABC, hosted for a fourth time by Jimmy Kimmel. 

• The 96th Academy Awards will take place in LA tonight, with a host of Hollywood stars in attendance
• In keeping with red carpet tradition, the awards ceremony was host to some shocking fashion faux pas
• READ MORE: Oscars 2024 LIVE: Awards, red carpet news, winners recaps and more

By Dailymail.com reporter

Published: 4:10 PM EDT, March 10, 2024 | Updated: 4:27 PM EDT, March 10, 2024

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The Academy Awards are the biggest night in Hollywood – with wins in the major categories ensuring films go down in the history books.

Christopher Nolan’s historical epic Oppenheimer leads the nominations with a whopping 13 nods including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture – and is the favorite to win big on the night.

Three blockbusters have emerged as the all-time top winners at the Oscars – scoring a mammoth 11 wins on the night – Ben Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

The musical with the most Oscar wins was West Side Story (1961), with ten trophies, while The English Patient (1996), The Last Emperor (1987) and Gigi  (1958) taking home nine Oscars and Slumdog Millionaire (2008) winning eight.

Ahead of the 2024 Oscars on Sunday – DailyMail.com looks back at the biggest winners at the ceremony ever…

BEN HUR (1959) 

The 1959 swords-and-sandals epic with its iconic chariot race was once the most ambitious and, at $15 million, expensive film ever made.

Charlton Heston starred as fallen Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hu who is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend  Messala (Stephen Boyd) in 1st-century Jerusalem. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge.

The film is known for its nine minute chariot race scene and for using 15,000 extras and one million props. 

Ben-Hur won a record 11 Academy Awards out of 12 nominations –  including Best Picture, Best Director for William Wyler and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Heston. 

The film also won Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Hugh Griffith,  Best Art Direction-Set Decoration – Color – Edward C. Carfagno and William A. Horning (posthumous award) (art direction); Hugh Hunt (set decoration), Best Cinematography – Color – Robert L. Surtees, Best Costume Design – Color – Elizabeth Haffenden, Best Film Editing – John D. Dunning and Ralph E. Winters, Best Sound Recording – Franklin Milton, MGM Studio Sound Department,  Best Music – Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture – Miklós Rózsa and Best Special Effects.

The only category that Ben-Hur did not win in was for Best Adapted Screenplay, losing to Room at the Top.

TITANIC (1997)

The sinking ship epic which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as doomed lovers onboard the Titanic in 1912 became the highest grossing film of all-time when it was released.

James Cameron’s epic movie follows upper-class Rose and poor boy Jack who fall in love during their brief trip, before Jack ultimately sacrifices himself and freezes to death in the ocean so that his lover can live.

The film won 11 Academy Awards out of 14 nominations and was the first film in history to reach the billion-dollar mark.

Titanic won Best Picture, Best Director for James Cameron, Best Art Direction –  Peter Lamont and Michael D. Ford, Best Cinematography – Russell Carpenter, Best Costume Design – Deborah Lynn Scott, Best Film Editing – Conrad Buff, James Cameron, and Richard A. Harris, Best Original Dramatic Score – James Horner, Best Original Song – James Horner and Will Jennings for My Heart Will Go On, Best Sound – Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Gary Summers, and Mark Ulano. Best Sound Effects Editing Tom Bellfort and Christopher Boyes and Best Visual Effects – Robert Legato, Mark A. Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher, and Michael Kanfer.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003)

The last of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy followed Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) as they push further into the heart of Mordor accompanied by the deceitful Gollum (Andy Serkis) to destroy The Ring of power.

Meanwhile the warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), revealed to be the lost king of Gondor, travels to Minis Tirith with an army of undead soldiers and the remaining members of the fellowship to recapture the ancient city from Lord Sauron’s grasp.

The film was nominated for 11 awards at the 2004 Oscars and became the highest clean sweep in history for a movie – winning every category in which it was nominated.

Jackson won his first Best Director Oscar while the film also won Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson.

The film also won Best Art Direction – Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee, Best Costume Design Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, Best Film Editing Jamie Selkirk, Best Makeup Richard Taylor and Peter King, Best Original Score – Howard Shore, Best Original Song Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox  for Into The West.

It also won Best Sound Mixing – Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek and Best Visual Effects Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke

The 96th Academy Awards honors the best films of 2023 – with the glittering ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. 

The most hotly anticipated movies of the past year – Barbie and Oppenheimer – lead the nominations. 

Oppenheimer has bagged 13 nods, including best picture and best actor for Cillian Murphy – who is favorite to win the major category after scooping a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and SAG award for his role as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

The impressive total – which also includes best supporting actor and actress for Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, as well as best director for Christopher Nolan – is just one nomination short of the all-time record set by Titanic in 1998.

Last year’s other smash hit movie – Barbie – was nominated for eight awards, but also fell victim to notable snubs from the Academy.

Its star Margot Robbie was not nominated for best actress, while Greta Gerwig was not nominated for best director.

Another surprise saw America Ferrera nominated for best supporting actress over her role in Barbie, with pundits saying her character’s impassioned speech on feminism had sealed the deal. 

Barbie’s other nominations include best picture, best supporting actor for Ryan Gosling and two nods for best song – including Gosling’s famed ‘I’m Just Ken.’ 

The second most-nominated movie was Poor Things, a graphic art house movie starring Emma Stone that has wowed critics but so-far failed to set the box office alight.

Stone plays a sex-crazed young woman, with her performance wowing critics. She previously won best actress in 2017 for her performance in La La Land. 

For best actor in leading role Bradley Cooper and Cillian Murphy are set to duke it out for the award. Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright received nominations as well.

Leonardo DiCaprio was not recognized for his acting on Killers Of The Flower Moon.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things took home 11 Oscar nominations and Killers of the Flower Moon landed 10.

Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Huller, Carey Mulligan and Emma Stone have been nominated for best actress in a leading role.

Gladstone is the first Native American nominated for best actress, for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – and is the favorite in the category thanks to her wins at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards,

What Was I Made For by Billie Eilish and I’m Just Ken performed by Ryan Gosling from Barbie received their expected nominations for best original song. 

Sterling K. Brown, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Gosling and Mark Ruffalo received nominations for best actor in a supporting role.

Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster and Da’Vine Joy Randolph received nominations for best actress in a supporting role.

Joy already has  Golden Globe. Bafta, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards and is favorite for an Oscar for her performance as a bereaved cook in The Holdovers.

Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were nominated for best directing, snubbing Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. 

Gerwig was nominated for best director in 2018 for her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird. Only three women have won Oscars for best director – Kathryn Bigelow, Chloe Zhao and Jane Campion.

Though Nolan is regarded as the big-budget auteur of his era, he’s never won an Academy Award, nor have any of his films won best picture. 

Bradley Cooper was not nominated for directing Maestro but he was recognized for his acting in that bio movie.

American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest landed best picture nominations.  

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10 at 7 pm ET/4pm PT live on ABC, hosted for a fourth time by Jimmy Kimmel. 

Hollywood has discovered the nominations for this year’s Oscars, which will honor the film industry’s best stars and films from the past twelve months.

Oscar nominations 2024: The awards are presented by American television presenter Jimmy Kimmel from Los Angeles. Some of the biggest names in entertainment and film will gather at the Hollywood Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, United States, for the 96th Academy Awards, the biggest night of the global awards season, to showcase some of the top performances from leading artists. honor and celebrate. actors in the past twelve months. Indian audiences can watch the Oscars 2024 live on Monday, March 11 at 4 am. ‘Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan, has the most nominations (13 in total), followed by “Poor things,’ with 11 nominations, and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,” directed by Martin Scorsese, who has ten. The nominated artists include well-known stars including Robert Downey Jr., Jodie Foster, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper.

Oscar 2024 Full list of nominees below:

1. Best photo

American fiction
Anatomy of a fall
Barbie
The survivors
Killers of the Flower Moon
Master
Oppenheimer
Past lives
Poor things
The zone of interest

2. Actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper
Colman Domingo
Paul Giamatti
Cillian Murphy
Jeffery Wright

3. Actress in a leading role

Annette Bening
Lily Gladstone
Sandra Huller
Carey Mulligan
Emma Stone

4. Supporting actor

Sterling K Brown
Robert de Niro
Robert Downey Jr
Ryan Gosling
Mark Ruffalo

5. Supporting actress

Emily Blunt
Danielle Brooks
America Ferrera
Jodie Foster
Da’Vine Joy Randolph

6. Direction

Justine Triet
Martin Scorsese
Christopher Nolan
Yorgos Lanthimos
Jonathan Glazer

7. Writing (adapted screenplay)

American fiction
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor things
The zone of interest

8. Writing (original screenplay)

Anatomy of a fall
The survivors
Master
May December
Past lives

9. International feature film

Io Capitano
Perfect days
Association of the Snow
The teachers’ room
The zone of interest

10. Animated film

The boy and the heron
Elementary
Nimona
Robot dreams
Spider-Man: About the Spider-Verse

11. Documentary feature film

Bobi Wine: the people’s president
The eternal memory
Four daughters
To kill a tiger
20 days in Mariupol

12. Live action short film

The actor
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, white and blue
The beautiful story of Henry Sugar

13. Documentary short film

The ABCs of the book ban
Little Rock’s hairdresser
The island in between
The last repair shop
Nai Nai and Wai Po

14. Short animated film

Letter to a pig
Ninety-five senses
Our uniform
pachyderm
The war is over!

15. Film editing

Anatomy of a fall
The survivors
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor things

16. Production design

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor things

17. Costume design

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor things

18. Music (original score)

American fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Fate
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor things

19. Music (Original Song)

The fire inside
I’m just Ken
It never went away
Wahzazhe (A song for my people)
What was I made for?

20. Makeup and hair styling

Gouda
Master
Oppenheimer
Poor things
Association of the Snow

21. Sound

The creator
Master
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning part one
Oppenheimer
The zone of interest

22. Visual effects

The creator
Godzilla Minus one
Guardians of the Galaxy part 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning part one
Napoleon

(With ANI inputs)

De Academy Awards hebben voor veel memorabele momenten gezorgd, of het nu gaat om vergissingen, een klap of een… naakte man stormt over het podium achter presentator David Niven tijdens de rage van het midden van de jaren zeventig. Maar vanaf het begin hebben de regels en waarden van de Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences zelf voor unieke wendingen gezorgd naarmate ze met het medium evolueerden om de veranderende tijden beter te weerspiegelen en de talenten van haar leden te eren.

Verwant: 10 filmsterren die nooit tot Oscar’s beste zijn verkozen

10 De eerste Oscaruitreiking kende geen verrassingen

De Academie reikte haar eerste prijzen uit na een black-tie-diner op 16 mei 1929, tijdens een ceremonie die vijftien minuten duurde. Er was geen spanning omdat de resultaten in februari bekend waren gemaakt en in de nieuwsbrief van de Academie waren afgedrukt. Het eerste beeldje (nog niet de bijnaam Oscar) was al gegeven aan acteur Emil Jannings, die ermee op de foto ging voordat hij terugkeerde naar Duitsland.

Het jaar daarop wachtte de Academie met het bekendmaken van haar onderscheidingen tot het presentatie-evenement, maar ze gaf de lijst wel vooraf aan de kranten zodat deze onmiddellijk daarna kon worden gepubliceerd. Dit protocol bleef bestaan ​​tot 1940, toen de Los Angeles Times sprong in het diepe en drukte de winnaars af in een avondeditie die beschikbaar was voor de aanwezigen toen ze arriveerden voor de ceremonie. Als reactie hierop schakelde de Academie daarna over op verzegelde enveloppen en totale geheimhouding.^[1]

9 De eerste juryleden maakten hun eigen regels

Het vroege selectieproces was niet bijzonder democratisch. Leden van de nieuw opgerichte Academie deden suggesties uit alle films die tussen 1 augustus 1927 en 31 juli 1928 waren uitgebracht. Vervolgens bracht een kleine jury de tien beste stemmentrekkers in negen categorieën terug tot drie finalisten in elke categorie, en een uit vijf man bestaande (ja, allemaal mannen) De Centrale Raad van Rechters selecteerde de winnaars. Er werd geen onderscheid gemaakt tussen hoofd- en bijrollen, en acteurs en actrices werden erkend voor een oeuvre gedurende de aangegeven periode in plaats van voor een specifieke film.

De Raad van Rechters had ook het laatste woord over de geschiktheid. Terwijl in korte films al jaren werd geëxperimenteerd met verschillende technologieën om beelden te koppelen aan muziek en geluidseffecten, De Jazz-zangeres (1927) veranderde alles. Deze speelfilm bevatte niet alleen muziek, maar ook korte momenten van dialoog, waaronder de eerste ad-lib van het witte doek: Al Jolson die zei: ‘Wacht even, wacht even. Je hebt nog niets gehoord.”

De almachtige juryleden beschouwden deze box office-favoriet als oneerlijke concurrentie voor stomme films en verklaarden dat deze niet in aanmerking kwam voor de eerste Outstanding Picture-onderscheiding. Als troostprijs ontving Warner Bros. een Special Award ‘voor het produceren De Jazz-zangeresde pionier op het gebied van uitstekende sprekende films, die een revolutie teweeg heeft gebracht in de industrie.”

In een andere eenzijdige beslissing reikten de juryleden een tweede speciale onderscheiding uit aan Charlie Chaplin, waarin ze in een brief aan hem stelden dat ze “unaniem hadden besloten dat je naam uit de competitieklassen moest worden verwijderd en dat je een speciale eerste onderscheiding zou krijgen voor het schrijven , acteren, regisseren en produceren Het circus. De collectieve prestaties die zo worden getoond, plaatsen je in een klasse apart.”^[2]

8 De wiskunde van de Academie

De Academy Awards voor 1931-1932 omvatten niet alleen de eerste radio-uitzending van een deel van de ceremonie, maar ook de eerste uitreiking van twee prijzen voor dezelfde categorie. Frederic March kreeg nog één stem voor zijn optreden in Dr. Jekyll en meneer Hyde dan Wallace Beery deed De kampioen, maar volgens de vreemde regels van de Academie destijds werd een verschil van minder dan drie stemmen als een gelijkspel beschouwd en werden beide acteurs geëerd. March en Beery deelden ook het feit dat ze allebei onlangs geadopteerde kinderen hadden. March grapte suggestief: ‘Onder de gegeven omstandigheden lijkt het een beetje vreemd dat Wally en ik allebei prijzen kregen voor de beste mannelijke prestatie van het jaar.’

In latere jaren werden de regels gewijzigd om alleen een exacte gelijkheid in een hoofdcategorie te erkennen. In 1969, tijdens de eerste ceremonie die wereldwijd op televisie werd uitgezonden, zei Katharine Hepburn (De leeuw in de winter) en Barbara Streisand (Grappig meisje) deelde de onderscheiding voor Beste Actrice toen ze elk 3.030 stemmen kregen. Voor Hepburn was dit haar recordbrekende elfde nominatie en derde overwinning. Voor Streisand was het haar filmdebuut.^[3]

7 Oscar junior

WC Fields wordt gecrediteerd voor het adviseren van acteurs om nooit met kinderen of dieren te werken. Hoeveel erger is het om met een kind om een ​​prijs te strijden, zoals gebeurde toen Lionel Barrymore de negenjarige Jackie Cooper versloeg, genomineerd voor Beste Acteur in Skippy (1931). Om herhaling te voorkomen heeft de Academie in haar zevende jaar een speciale Juvenile Award van een halve grootte in het leven geroepen voor de kleine kassierdynamo Shirley Temple, “als dankbare erkenning voor haar uitmuntende bijdrage aan het filmentertainment in het jaar 1934.” Toen ze lang na haar bedtijd eindelijk haar miniatuurbeeldje ontving, bedankte de slaperige zesjarige de presentator en vroeg vervolgens: ‘Mama, mag ik nu naar huis?’

In totaal zouden later twaalf Juvenile Awards worden uitgereikt, onder meer aan Mickey Rooney (achttien jaar) en Deanna Durbin (zeventien) in 1939, Judy Garland (zeventien) in 1940 voor Babes in de armen En De tovenaar van Ozen Margaret O’Brien (zeven) voor Ontmoet mij in St. Louis (1944). Een Juvenile Award werd voor het laatst uitgereikt aan Hayley Mills (veertien). Pollyanna (1960). Mills zat destijds op een Engelse kostschool en was niet beschikbaar om de mini-Oscar te ontvangen van de eerste ontvanger, een volwassen Shirley Temple.^[4]

6 Gebrek aan ondersteuning

Beginnend met films die in 1936 werden uitgebracht, werden de nominaties gedaan door een commissie van vijftig en werden de winnaars door alle leden van de Academie gestemd. Ook werden de twee acteercategorieën, waar artiesten met kleinere rollen altijd verloren hadden van degenen met meer schermtijd, uitgebreid met afzonderlijke erkenningen voor beste mannelijke bijrol en vrouwelijke bijrol.

Deze winnaars ontvingen echter een plaquette die verticaal op een houten voet was gemonteerd, naast een klein, verhoogd figuur van Oscar. Ondersteunende spelers ontvingen pas in 1943 hetzelfde beeldje als hun hoofdrolspelers.^[5]

5 Een Oscar die voor zichzelf zou kunnen spreken

Als kind leerde Edgar Bergen zichzelf buikspreken met een pamflet van vijfentwintig cent genaamd ‘Herrmann’s Wizards’ Manual’. In de jaren twintig werden hij en zijn pop, Charlie McCarthy, een hit op het vaudeville-circuit, waarbij het succes van de act meer te danken was aan de humor dan aan de technische vaardigheden van Bergen, terwijl hij heteroman speelde voor zijn bijdehante sidekick.

Hun populariteit breidde zich eerst uit naar de radio en vervolgens naar een reeks korte films en speelfilms. In 1937 kende de Academie beide partners een ereprijs toe: toepasselijk een Oscar-beeldje van hout met een beweegbare mond. Het duo woonde de presentatieceremonie bij in hun kenmerkende hoge hoeden en smokings.^[6]

4 Beter laat dan nooit

De studio van Walt Disney produceerde twee van de drie genomineerden in de nieuwe categorie Korte Onderwerpen (tekenfilms) uit 1932, en hij nam de prijs mee naar huis voor zijn zes minuten durende Bloemen en bomen, de eerste korte animatiefilm in kleur. Disney bleef tijdens het eerste decennium van Oscar overwinningen of nominaties behalen in die categorie.

Maar terwijl het publiek er door werd verblind Sneeuwwitje en de Zeven Dwergen (1937), werd deze baanbrekende film alleen genomineerd voor Beste Muziek, Score, samen met dertien concurrenten, omdat de categorie ‘cartoon’ uitging van een korte film in plaats van een lange speelfilm.

Om deze vergissing goed te maken, ontving Disney in 1939 een Honorary Award waarmee zijn meesterwerk (zij het laat) werd erkend ‘als een belangrijke scherminnovatie die miljoenen heeft gecharmeerd en een pioniersrol heeft gespeeld in een groot nieuw entertainmentveld’. Deze unieke onderscheiding bestond uit een Oscar op ware grootte bovenop een houten kolom, geflankeerd door zeven dwerg-Oscars op aflopende treden.

De categorie ‘tekenfilms’ voor korte onderwerpen werd in 1971 uiteindelijk veranderd in de meer omvattende ‘animatiefilms’. Maar wederom zijn tijd ver vooruit, Disney’s spectaculaire Schoonheid en het beest (1991) zou moeten concurreren met acteurs van vlees en bloed voor de Beste Film, omdat speelfilmanimatie pas tien jaar lang geen eigen categorie zou krijgen, op tijd om de eer te bewijzen Shrek (2001).^[7]

3 Oscar sluit zich aan bij de oorlogsinspanning

De uitreiking van de veertiende Academy Awards was gepland op 26 februari 1942, minder dan drie maanden nadat de aanval op Pearl Harbor de Verenigde Staten in de Tweede Wereldoorlog trok. In plaats van te annuleren besloot de Academie een meer bescheiden aangelegenheid te organiseren, zonder zoeklichten buiten en de sterren minder formele kleding dragen in plaats van smokings en japonnen of in uniform zoals James Stewart, een tweede luitenant bij de legerluchtmacht.

Zelfs Oscar kleedde zich gedurende de hele duur gekleed. Terwijl het 33,5 cm hoge beeldje voorheen in massief brons was gegoten met een plaat van 24-karaats goud, waren de onderscheidingen die tussen 1943 en 1945 werden uitgereikt gemaakt van gips en bedekt met een bronzen lak om metaal te behouden voor de oorlogsinspanning. De winnaars kregen te horen dat ze ze na de oorlog zouden kunnen inruilen voor de traditionele versie.^[8]

2 Beter echt laat dan nooit

Nadat hij in het eerste jaar van de Academie een speciale onderscheiding had ontvangen, won Charlie Chaplin slechts één concurrerende Oscar, en deze werd uitgereikt voor werk dat twintig jaar op erkenning wachtte. In oktober 1952 voer Chaplin kort daarvoor naar Londen Schijnwerpers (een film die hij had geschreven, geregisseerd, waarin hij speelde en scoorde) werd uitgebracht in New York City.

Ondertussen onderzocht het ministerie van Justitie, zonder duidelijk bewijs, beschuldigingen dat hij banden had met communisten, en de Amerikaanse procureur-generaal bestempelde hem als ‘een onsmakelijk karakter’. Bij Chaplin, nog steeds een Brits staatsburger, werd zijn inreisvergunning ingetrokken en hij beloofde nooit meer terug te keren. Toen het American Legion en andere veteranengroepen dreigden de totaal apolitieke strijd te voeren Schijnwerpersen RKO Studios-hoofd Howard Hughes drongen er bij RKO-theaters op aan de film niet te boeken, toekomstige vertoningen in het hele land werden geannuleerd.

De toenmalige Academieregels stelden dat een film een ​​openbare vertoning in Los Angeles moest hebben om in een bepaald jaar in aanmerking te komen voor een Oscar. Hoewel Schijnwerpers had in 1955 een run van een week in San Francisco, maar beleefde pas in december 1972 de vereiste premiere in LA. Uiteindelijk, in maart 1973, deelden Chaplin, Ray Rasch en Larry Russell (de laatste twee al lang overleden) de Oscar voor Beste Muziek, originele dramatische score van de twintig jaar oude film. Het voorjaar daarvoor had Chaplin zijn belofte gebroken en was hij teruggekeerd naar Hollywood om een ​​tweede ereprijs in ontvangst te nemen ‘voor het onberekenbare effect dat hij heeft gehad bij het maken van films tot de kunstvorm van deze eeuw.’^[9]

1 Oscar ziet dode mensen

James Dean had slechts drie grote filmrollen in zijn veel te korte carrière. Toch werd hij in opeenvolgende jaren genomineerd voor de onderscheiding voor Beste Acteur, beide postuum. Zes maanden nadat de charismatische acteur debuteerde in oosten van Eden (1955) en weken voor de opening van Rebel zonder doel (1955), hij werd vermoord. Op 30 september 1955, op vierentwintigjarige leeftijd, kwam zijn Porsche Spyder in botsing met een andere auto op een bergweg nabij Cholame, Californië, slechts enkele uren nadat Dean een bekeuring had gekregen wegens te hard rijden.

Wijlen Dean ontving die winter een Oscar-knikje oosten van Eden maar verloor van Ernest Borgnine in de winnaar van de beste film Marty. Omdat Dean’s laatste film, Reusachtig (1956), werd pas het jaar daarop vrijgelaten. Hij kreeg een tweede kans van achter het graf, maar verloor van Yul Brynner in De koning en ik.

Veteraan filmster Peter Finch stierf aan een hartaanval niet lang voordat hij werd genomineerd voor Beste Acteur Netwerk (1976). Hij werd de eerste artiest die na zijn dood won. Zijn Oscar werd aanvaard door zijn weduwe, Eletha Finch, en de scenarioschrijver van de film, Paddy Chayefsky.

De achtentwintigjarige Heath Ledger stierf op 22 januari 2008 aan een accidentele overdosis van meerdere voorgeschreven medicijnen. Een jaar later werd hij genomineerd voor Beste Mannelijke Bijrol voor zijn rol in The Joker De donkere ridder (2008). Toen hij de eerste postume winnaar in deze categorie werd, accepteerden zijn ouders en zus namens hem de prijs.^[10]