2. The World of Film An evening at the Academy Awards Natalie Nasser

3. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences When the first Academy Awards were handed out on May 16, 1929, movies were only first developing. The ceremony at a banquet in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The attendance was 250 people and tickets cost $10. At first, the winners were known prior to the ceremony. Results were given in advance to the newspapers for publication at 11 p.m. on the night of the Awards. But in 1940, guests arriving could buy the 8:45 p.m. edition of the LA Times, which announced the winning achievements. As a result, the sealed-envelope system was adopted the next year and remains in use today. The first presentation was the only one without media present, but by the second year enthusiasm for the Awards was so high that a Los Angeles radio station actually did a live, one-hour broadcast.

4. History In 1966, the Oscars were first broadcast in color. From 1971 through 1975 the NBC-TV network carried the Awards. ABC has telecast the show since 1976 and is under contract through 2008. The awards have moved through venues over the years, but the 74th in 2002, were held at a new Kodak Theatre--- across the street from where the first Oscars were presented at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1929. The 26th Annual held on March 25, 1954, from the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood

5. Best Pictures by Studio Studio Best Picture WinsBest Picture Nominations Columbia1251 United Artists1251 Paramount1155 MGM957 20th Century Fox754 Warner Brothers661 Universal625 Orion46 Dreamworks SKG34 Miramax214 RKO Radio219 Fox17

6. Best Actor  Only Non-Human Best Actor-Nominated Performance: Jeff Bridges as alien in Starman (1984)  Shortest Best Actor Performance: Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs -16 minutes of screen time  Youngest Best Actor Winner: 29 year- old Adrien Brody for The Pianist (2002)  Oldest Best Actor Winner: 76 year-old Henry Fonda for On Golden Pond (1981)

7. Best Actress The Only Best Actress Tie: In 1968, Katharine Hepburn and Barbara Streisand, for their respective performances in The Lion in Winter (1968) and Funny Girl (1968). Only African-American: Halle Berry (with her first nomination) for Monster's Ball (2001) Youngest Best Actress Winner: 21 year-old Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God (1986) Oldest Best Actress Winner: 80 (almost 81) year- old Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy (1989)