The 89th Academy Awards returns this Sunday and all of the dominating films of 2016 will be honored in one, glitzy night. A meticulous affair, we’re not sure what to look at first. Between criticizing celebrity style and furiously googling the films we didn’t get around to watching so we can keep up throughout the night, we’re pretty busy. But there are some things you probably never thought about. Why is the trophy a shiny, golden man? Is the red carpet actually red? Here’s everything you didn’t know about the Oscars.
1. The red carpet is actually Academy Red.
The first thing we see before the ceremony begins is the iconic red carpet. The shade is actually closer to burgundy and was designed to flatter A-list actors who while they strut and pose. The formula of the color is kept a secret for preservation and it takes about 900 man-hours for the entire carpet to be installed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ3i0QhAfPU/?tagged=oscarsredcarpet
2. Uncle Oscar is super expensive.
The iconic statue features five spokes on its base to represent the actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers. Though officially named as the Academy Award of Merit, the trophy is believed to be named Oscar after an executive director observed that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. Each statuette is estimated to value $696.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ5lKVZB7P7/?tagged=oscarstatue
3. There’s a thorough voting process.
One has to be inducted into the academy and can only belong to one branch (actor, director, producer). Members can only vote for nominees in their own group, so Directors can only vote for Best Director, and so on. After a second nominee process can an official nominee be chosen. In the final process, the whole Academy votes on each category. However, it’s possible that a member may even cast a vote in categories they don’t understand or for a film they may not have seen.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ4N_96FEjh/?tagged=oscars
4. It’s the first year in which black actors were nominated in every acting category.
In the past two years, no black actor, including male and female, were nominated. The talented nominees of this year are: Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Naomie Harris, Rutha Negga, Mahershala Ali, and Denzel Washington.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ5_U1VgCjV/?tagged=denzelwashington
5. 2017 has the most diverse Academy class.
New members were inducted into the Academy in 2016 in which 46% were women and 41% were people of color.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ6CqBShzFg/?tagged=oscars
6. Actress Viola Davis set a record.
This year marks Davis’ third Oscar nomination, which is a record for a black actress.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQbZ5_FhzkP/?taken-by=violadavis
7. It’s the 21st nomination of sound mixer Kevin O’Connell.
O’Connell created sound effects for Hacksaw Ridge and holds the record for having the most Oscar nominations without ever winning. You know what they saw, 21st time’s the charm.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ5_20rl6T7/?tagged=hacksawridge
8. It’s been two decades since Mel Gibson received an Oscar nomination.
He’s nominated this year for directing Hacksaw Ridge. His last nomination was for Braveheart in 1996.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ53Qz9jY1Z/?tagged=melgibson
9. The entire cost of the Oscars ceremony is roughly $42.8 million.
https://www.instagram.com/p/zPgZn5JXVM/?tagged=oscarsceremony
10. The average cost of an A-list Actress’ look is $10 million.
Talk about looking like a million bucks. The cost of an average attendee is $1.5 million while a first-timer only needs to shell out $266k.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCYGFhGEnFr/?tagged=oscarsceremony
11. The price of Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t come cheap.
He’ll earn about $15,000 after the night is over.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKW2kcmjXX-/?taken-by=jimmykimmel