Academy Awards

Annual awards of merit given since 1927 to film artists and technicians by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in the form of 13 1-inch-high gold-plated statuettes known as Oscars. Members of 13 art and craft branches select up to five nominees for awards in their particular area of specialty (actors select actors, directors select directors, editors select editors, etc.). The voting membership (about 4500 of the 5000 members) then votes in a secret ballot on the final winners in all categories.

The Academy Award ceremony is a glittering annual affair now brought into American homes via an enormously popular television broadcast. Although still the most coveted film award, the aura of the Oscar has become increasingly tainted. The voting system has come under fire by members of the industry and outside critics as being influenced more by publicity and sentiment than by actual quality and merit. The event itself has been derisively termed a popularity contest. Nonetheless, despite the dissent, the Academy Awards continue to carry weight in the economics of the film industry. A best picture award is worth as much as $20 million extra at the box office, and an individual Oscar can do wonders for a performer or filmmaker negotiating a salary.

animation

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, full-fledged animation made a startling theatrical comeback with the release of former Disney animator Don Bluth's AN AMERICAN TAIL (1986), THE LAND BEFORE TIME (1988), ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN (1989), AN AMERICAN TAIL: FIEVEL GOES WEST (1991), and ROCK-A-DOODLE (1992), as well as Disney's own THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE (1986), THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989), and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991). BEAUTY AND THE BEAST made financial history by becoming the first animated film ever to gross more than $100 million, and Academy Award history by being the first animated film ever nominated for Best Picture.

art director

The designer of a film set, often having a major hand in the overall look and prsentation of a film. Anton Furst’s designs for Tim Burton’s BATMAN (1989) gave the film an overall feeling of oppression and despair.

assistant director

The director's right-hand man, he performs the function of a foreman on the set. The "A.D.," as he is frequently called, relieves the director of many routine responsibilities so that the director can concentrate on the creative aspects of his work. The A.D. is responsible for, among other things, the "call" (summoning the actors, crews, and logistical support to the right place at the right time). It is also his responsibility to keep the production moving on schedule and to maintain order and discipline on the set. It is his voice that pleads for "Quiet on the set!" and orders the camera operator to "Roll."

On the creative side, the assistant director is directly responsible for crowd scenes. Prior to the start of production, he breaks down the script for a shooting schedule, with special attention to bit players and extras. With the director's approval, he determines the number of extras to be used in any particular scene and hires them (usually from Central Casting Corporation). The assistant director often has one or two second assistants, known as "seconds."