The 83rd Annual Academy Awards: History and Nominations

He started out as a ‘freak and geek’; she started out as a princess. The pair went on to star in blockbuster hits such as: “Spider Man”, “Pineapple Express”, “The Princess Diaries”, and “Love and Other Drugs”.

Who are these two? Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Both are set to host the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, live on ABC network on February 27, 2011 at 8 pm (ET).

History
The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, began in 1927 when MGM’s studio chief Louis B. Mayer, and three of his friends, (director Fred Niblo, actor Conrad Nagel and producer Fred Beetson) set out to create a group to benefit the film industry. They chose to move this idea forward by inviting representatives from the creative branches of the film industry for dinner a week later.

On January 11 of that year, the 36 members of the creative branch met for dinner in Los Angeles to hear the proposal from Mayer, Niblo, Nagel and Beetson. The members chose the name the “Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences” – and in mid-March elected Douglas Fairbanks as president.

On May 11, 1927, the state approved the Academy as a non-profit organization and a banquet was held in its honor at the Biltmore Hotel, in California. It was during the banquet that the Academy gave its first honorary membership award to Thomas Edison. The event also marked the creation of the five branches within the Academy, which are: Producers, Actors, Directors, Writers and Technicians.

February 27, 2011 Ceremony
This year, the Academy Awards nomination list includes many well-known actors and actresses ranging from Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Williams, James Franco, Christian Bale, Mark Ruffalo, Amy Adams and many others. The 10 movies competing for Best Picture are: “The Social Network”, “Inception”, “Black Swan”, “The Fighter”, “The Kids Are All Right”, “The King’s Speech”, “127 hours”, “Toy Story 3”, “Winter’s Bone” and “True Grit”.

The rest of the categories and their nominees are as follows:

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges- True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network
Colin Firth- The King’s Speech
James Franco- 127 Hours

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale- The Fighter
John Hawkes- Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner- The Town
Mark Ruffalo- The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush- The King’s Speech

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening- The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman- Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence- Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman- Black Swan
Michelle Williams- Blue Valentine

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams- The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter- The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo- The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit
Jacki Weaver- Animal Kingdom

Animated Feature Film
How To Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

In addition to these nominations, there are nominees for Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Film Editing, Foreign Language Film, Make Up, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and Writing (Original Screenplay).

The Scientific and Technical Awards, Honorary Awards, Special Achievement Awards, and others will also be given by the Board of Governors.

Guest presenters and performers include: Annette Bening, Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Zachary Levi, Alan Menken, Mandy Moore, Randy Newman, Gwyneth Paltrow, A.R. Rahman, Marisa Tomei, Florence Welch, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon.

Tune in before the ceremony to watch the live broadcast of the Red Carpet beginning at 7 pm (ET) on ABC network, which will include star interviews, and their choices of the best Red Carpet fashion.