The Award of Merit statuette, commonly known as the “Oscar,” is the copyrighted property and registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (“Academy”).
When it comes to having the most Oscars, Walt Disney is the GOAT. He earned a whopping 22 Academy Awards during his career — plus four honorary awards, USA Today reported.
There is no direct cash prize for winning an Oscar, no cheque is made out to the winners… but the those lucky enough to lift the 13 and a half inch tall golden statuette, crafted by Polich Tallix fine art foundry in New York's Hudson Valley, will certainly see a boost to their bank account, if not an immediate one.
To put it simply, the answer is 'no,' the winners don't get paid in cash. As per media reports, there never really is any direct cash prize for winning an Oscar; however, those who do win, see a boost to their bank accounts and reputation, often eventually.
Cast in bronze and finished with gold plating, the award is among the most coveted in the film industry — and the Academy values it at just $1. Of course, the Oscar itself is much more costly to produce.
Since 1951, all Academy Award winners must sign an agreement that they “shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1”.
Including production staff hired to pull off the Academy Awards, Ampas paid more than $50 million in salaries and benefits in 2020. Academy CEO Dawn Hudson made $745,000 in 2019, according to the most recent tax filing available.
A final theory attributes the nickname to Academy librarian Margaret Herrick who reportedly made an off-hand comment that the statuette reminded her of her uncle Oscar. The name eventually stuck, especially when she later became the Executive Director of the Academy.
Ever since the '50s, Academy Award winners have been forbidden from selling or disposing of their prestigious trophies. Why? For people in the film industry, winning an Oscar isn't just seen as an honor, but as a surefire way to boost one's career.
According to the academy website, just two PricewaterhouseCoopers partners know the results beforehand. PwC is the accounting firm that tabulates the votes. Each partner is stationed in the Dolby Theatre's wings during the ceremony with a full set of winners' envelopes.
That's because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars, has strict rules in place to prevent winners from profiting off of the sale of their trophies.
Actor Harold Russell sold the Oscar he won for his role in 'For the Best Years of Our Lives' in 1944 in exchange for 60,500 dollars in order to pay for his wife's illness.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts and coordinates the awards each season, has strict rules regarding the statuettes. The official regulations state that winners cannot sell their Oscar without first offering to sell it back to the Academy for $1, which makes each one worth a mere $1.
The statuettes are solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold. Due to a metal shortage during World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.
It is composed of 24-karat gold-plated bronze. The sleek award stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs a hefty 8.5 pounds. If cast in 24-karat gold, the award would weigh 22.7 pounds, a mass equivalent to a large watermelon or two-year-old child.
Are Oscar statues made of real gold? Like so much about Hollywood, Oscar's golden beauty is only skin deep. Today's Oscars are “solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold,” according to the official Oscars website.
Do actors pay to go to the Oscars? No. The Oscars are the biggest awards show, not only in Hollywood, but the world, and actors clammer to be a part of it. If an actor is chosen to be a presenter, they'll show up for a rehearsal or two to check their lighting and their lines before the actual event.
