Academy Awards

The Academy Awards are presented each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy is comprised of entertainment industry professionals and filmmakers, who vote on the which of the previous year's films, filmmakers and actors should receive special recognition. Though the awards handed out are technically called the "Academy Award of Merit," they are better known by the nickname "Oscar".

The nominations for the 82nd 2010 Academy Awards where held on February 2nd

The awards show is scheduled for Sunday evening March 7th on ABC.

Before the advent of television, the Academy Awards ceremonies were banquets, frequently held in Los Angeles' Biltmore or Ambassador hotels. Other venues that have hosted the Oscars include the Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Pantages Theater, the Shrine Auditorium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion.

At the first ceremony, most of the "technical" awards were compiled into a single category - the Academy Award for Engineering Effects, which went to the 1929 choice for "Best Picture," Wings. In subsequent years, particularly after the widespread use of sound recording, these awards were split into individual categories, including "scientific and technical awards" which are typically handed out at a smaller, more intimate ceremony before the main Academy Awards.

Bob Hope hosted more Oscars than any other individual, appearing for 17 straight years. Though he was never nominated for an award for his performances, he received five honorary Oscars over the years.

Only three films in history have won all five of the "major" awards on Oscar night: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Screenwriter or Best Screenplay awards. They are:

• • It Happened One Night in 1934
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975
  • The Silence of the Lambs in 1991

• 1998: Titanic
• 1999: Shakespeare in Love
• 2000: American Beauty
• 2001: Gladiator
• 2002: A Beautiful Mind
• 2003: Chicago
• 2004: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• 2005: Million Dollar Baby
• 2006: Crash
• 2007: The Departed
• 2008: No Country for Old Men

Many legendary, iconic actors, actresses and directors never won an Oscar during their lifetimes (though some would win "honorary" awards). The list includes:

• Directors:
  • Robert Altman
  • Ingmar Bergman
  • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Stanley Kubrick
  • Akira Kurosawa
  • Sidney Lumet
• Actors/Actresses:
  • Glenn Close
  • Catherine Deneuve
  • Greta Garbo
  • Cary Grant
  • Deborah Kerr
  • Peter O'Toole
  • Liv Ullmann

Orson Welles won only 1 Oscar, for co-writing Citizen Kane

Best Picture

1. “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
2. “The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
3. “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
4. "An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
5. “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
6. “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
7. “Precious": Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by "Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
8. “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
9. “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
10. “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Best Actor

1. Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
2. George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
3. Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
4. Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
5. Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

1. Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”"
2. George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
3. Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
4. Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
5. Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

1. Matt Damon in “Invictus”
2. Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
3. Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
4. Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
5. Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

1. Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
2. Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
3. Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
4. Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
5. Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

1. Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
2. Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
3. Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
4. Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
5. Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

1. “Coraline” Henry Selick
2. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
3. “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
4. “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
5. “Up” Pete Docter

1. “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
2. “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
3. “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
4. “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
5. “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

1. “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
2. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
3. “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
4. “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
5. “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

1. “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
2. “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
3. “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
4. “Nine” Colleen Atwood
5. “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

1. “Avatar” James Cameron
2. “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
3. “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
4. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
5. “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

1. “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
2. “The Cove” Nominees to be determined
3. “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
4. “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
5. “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

1. “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
2. “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
3. “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
4. “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
5. “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

1. “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
2. “District 9” Julian Clarke
3. “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
4. “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
5. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

1. “Ajami” Israel
2. “The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)” Peru
3. “A Prophet (Un Prophète)” France
4. “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
5. “The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany

1. “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
2. “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
3. “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

1. “Avatar” James Horner
2. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
3. “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
4. “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
5. “Up” Michael Giacchino

1. “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
2. “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
3. “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
4. “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
5. “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

1. “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
2. “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
3. “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
4. “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
5. “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

1. “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
2. “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
3. “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
4. “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
5. “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

1. “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
2. “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
3. “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
4. “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
5. “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

1. “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
2. “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
3. “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
4. “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
5. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

1. “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
2. “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
3. “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

1. “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
2. “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
3. “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
4. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
5. “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

1. “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
2. “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
3. “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
4. “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
5. “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Best Picture Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Sean Penn, Milk

Best Actress Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Director Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Supporting Actress Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Original Screenplay Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Short Animated Film Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: La Maison En Petits Cubes

Best Animated Film Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Wall-E

Best Art Direction Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: The Duchess

Best Make-Up Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Short Live Action Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Toyland

Best Supporting Actor Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Heath Ledger, "Batman: The Dark Knight"

Best Documentary Feature Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Smile Pinki

Best Visual Effects Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Sound Editing Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: The Dark Knight

Best Sound Mixing Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Film Editing Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Score Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Song Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: "Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Film Oscar Winner 2009 Winner: Departures