A Close-Up Look At The 85 Years of Oscar Poster By Olly Moss and A List Of The Movies It References.

One of my favorite graphic designers, Olly Moss, worked with The Academy and Gallery 1988 to create the official "85 Years of Oscars" poster for the 85th Academy Awards.

The poster (which is enlarged in sections below for you) contains Oscar Statuettes that have been re-imagined and drawn to symbolize the Oscar winning movie. Especially unique are the Oscar statuette drawings for Schindler's List (The little girl in the red coat), and for The Artist (black and white). Olly says "The brief was one of the hardest I’ve ever had; find a way to reference every single Best Picture winner from the last 85 years."

Here's a key to the Best Picture Winners referenced in the poster for you:


I have enlarged each Oscar statuette from the poster for you below.

1927-1947:

1948-1967:

1968-1987:

1998-2007:

2008-2012:


The poster debuted as part of Gallery 1988's Academy Awards project.
Olly Moss

A Look At How The Oscar Statuette Is Made & Fun Academy Awards Facts.

In honor of tonight's 85th Annual Academy Awards, here's a reprise of a post that looks at how the coveted statuette is actually made, from start to finish.



The exterior of R.S. Owens in Chicago:


Casting, Buffing and polishing:



The metal is heated to 960 degrees before pouring into the cast.

The Oscar, removed from the cast, and ready to be polished and buffed:

The rough seams are sanded:

And the statue is polished:



Electroplating:


being dipped into the nickel (the second step, it's first dipped into copper):

Dipped into the 24k plate, the fourth step (the third step is dipped into silver):




Engraving and Mounting:


Affixing the engraved plate to the base:

a close up look at base:

Placing the felt pad on the base:




Oscar Fun Facts:

• The official name of the statuette is the Academy Award® of Merit

• Oscar is 13½ inches tall and weighs 8½ pounds

• The First Recipient was Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh” in 1929

• Number of Awards Presented to date as of 2011: 2,809 statuettes



• It was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley.

• The Oscar statuette depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.)

• How Oscar received his nickname is not exactly clear.
The most popular story is that Margaret Herrick, an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar, and the Academy staff began to refer to it as Oscar. Although the nickname was used with increasing frequency during the late 1930s, the Academy didn't officially use the name Oscar until 1939.

• The Oscar statuette hasn't been altered since his molten birth, except when the design of the pedestal was made taller in 1945.

The 85th Oscars airs tonight at 7pm Eastern time and 4pm Pacific time

How Oscar Is Made & Other Cool Facts and Trivia About The Academy Award Statuette.

infographic source: LiveScience

In honor of tonight's 84rd Annual Academy Awards, here's a look at how the coveted statuette is actually made, from start to finish.



The exterior of R.S. Owens in Chicago:


Casting, Buffing and polishing:



The metal is heated to 960 degrees before pouring into the cast.

The Oscar, removed from the cast, and ready to be polished and buffed:

The rough seams are sanded:

And the statue is polished:



Electroplating:


being dipped into the nickel (the second step, it's first dipped into copper):

Dipped into the 24k plate, the fourth step (the third step is dipped into silver):




Engraving and Mounting:


Affixing the engraved plate to the base:

a close up look at base:

Placing the felt pad on the base:




Oscar Fun Facts:

• The official name of the statuette is the Academy Award® of Merit

• Oscar is 13½ inches tall and weighs 8½ pounds

• The First Recipient was Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh” in 1929

• Number of Awards Presented to date as of 2011: 2,809 statuettes



• It was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley.

• The Oscar statuette depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, standing on a reel of film. The film reel features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.)

• How Oscar received his nickname is not exactly clear.
The most popular story is that Margaret Herrick, an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar, and the Academy staff began to refer to it as Oscar. Although the nickname was used with increasing frequency during the late 1930s, the Academy didn't officially use the name Oscar until 1939.

• The Oscar statuette hasn't been altered since his molten birth, except when the design of the pedestal was made taller in 1945.

Billy Crystal will be hosting tonight's telecast. Below is a video of some of his best Oscar moments:
Click on the image below to see this year's complete list of nominees • And here is a look at the scheduled events for the evening. • Official Oscar site. images and info courtesy of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences