When the 89th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, we'll all be watching to see who wears what, who gets snubbed and who gets to take home the big prizes. How about that coveted little man? Even if you've memorized all 2,947 award winners dating back to 1929, the iconic statuette may still be something of a mystery. Here are some lesser known facts about the gilded trophy.
Photograph: Courtesy Motion Picture Academy of Art and Science
1. Originally, the awards were cased in bronze and plated in 24-karat gold. That stopped during WWII, when metal shortages forced a switch to awards made of plaster and gold paint. After the war, the Academy invited winners to trade those plaster awards in for metal statuettes.
2. There is no particular "Mr. Oscar" behind the namesake. The award took on the nickname when the Academy's librarian saw the first statuette in 1929 and remarked that it looked like her uncle Oscar.
3. In 2016, NYC-based Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry took over production for Chicago-based R.S. Owens, which had made the statues previously. Polich Calix has restored some subtle features to make the new statues more closely resemble the original run of awards.
4. You're not likely to find an official Oscar statuette on eBay. Ever since 1950, winners have had to sign an agreement requiring that they offer the Academy first dibs (for just $1) if they decide to sell.
Photograph: Courtesy Motion Picture Academy of Art and Science
5. Pre-1950s Oscars have famously been bought secondhand by Michael Jackson, David Copperfield and even Steven Spielberg, who bought Bette Davis's 1938 Best Actress award in 2001, just so he could return it to the Academy's archives.
6. If you plan to win an Oscar this year, be prepared to carry around eight-and-a-half pounds of metal to all those after-parties.
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