Every January, when the calendar has turned to a new year, the attention of the entertainment community and of film fans around the world turns to the upcoming Academy Awards. Oscar Fever hits, building to the crescendo of the annual presentation of golden statuettes, when hundreds of millions of cinema lovers glue themselves to their television sets to learn who will receive the highest honor in filmmaking.

After three-quarters of a century of recognizing excellence in cinema achievement, the annual presentation of the Oscars has become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' most famous activity.

The Academy Awards Presentation is also the activity that enables the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to maintain its varied year-round calendar of programs and events and a wide-ranging educational and cultural agenda.

The annual Oscar presentation has been held since 1929.

All voting for Academy Awards is conducted by secret ballot and tabulated by the international auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Secrecy is maintained by the auditors - the results of balloting are not revealed until the now-famous envelopes are opened on stage during the live television program. Because the Academy numbers among its members the ablest artists and craftsmen in the motion picture world, the Oscar represents the best achievements of the year in the opinion of those who themselves reside at the top of their craft.

Regular awards are presented for outstanding individual or collective efforts of the year in up to 25 categories.

Up to five nominations are made in categories with balloting for these nominations restricted to members of the Academy branch concerned; film editors, for instance, nominate only for Achievement in Film Editing. All voting members may nominate for Best Picture. Awards also are given to the Best Foreign Language film of the Year, a category not represented by a branch. Nominations for awards in this categories are made by a large committee of members drawn from all branches. Final winners are determined by vote of all eligible members.

In addition to the regular annual awards conferred by vote of the membership, the Board of Governors is empowered to vote Scientific and Technical Awards, Honorary Awards, Special Achievement Awards and other honors. Among these is the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, a bronze bust of the legendary producer, which is given to "a creative producer who has been responsible for a consistently high quality of motion picture production." It is considered the highest accolade a producer can receive. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an Oscar statuette, is given to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry." The Gordon E. Sawyer Award, also an Oscar statuette, is given to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry."

In their first year, the Academy Awards were presented at a private dinner in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, with fewer than 250 persons attending. Public interest proved so great, however, that the following year the Academy permitted radio broadcasting of the event. Television added a new dimension in 1953, enabling millions throughout the United States and Canada to watch the ceremonies. Telecasting in color was begun in 1966, bringing home viewers the full sparkle and glamour of the event. Since 1969, the Awards program has been telecast throughout the world, by the mid-1990s reaching movie fans in over 100 countries.
www.oscars.org

• History of Academy Awards
• Award categories
• Oscar Statuette and Other Academy Awards
• Kodak Theatre