2011 Academy Awards: Complete guide to the Oscars on ABC

The 83rd Academy Awards airs this Sunday on ABC, so be sure you're up on the latest news with this complete A-Z guide to the Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: This elite organization of industry giants votes to decide who wins an Oscar. It is compromised of more than 6,000 artists and professionals who bring the magic of movies to life. Members of the Academy are the cream of the crop, and include actors Will Smith and Salma Hayek, writers Sofia Coppola and Quentin Tarantino, executive Steve Jobs and musicians Bruce Springsteen and Elton John, in addition to thousands of others.

Best Picture Nominees: The 2011 Best Picture nominees are Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, and Winter’s Bone.

Critics: Every year, fashion critics dish extensively about the best and worst dressed at the Oscars. The queen of fashion critics, Joan Rivers, heads up the list. She’ll once again report on the best and worst dressed for Fashion Police on E!

Directors: The Best Director is the 2nd most anticipated Academy Award of the evening. This year’s nominee list includes: Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan, David O. Russell for The Fighter, Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech, David Fincher for The Social Network, and Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit.

Eighty-third Academy Awards: Far from the eagerly anticipated and globally televised event it is today, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place out of the public eye during an Academy banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Two hundred seventy people attended the May 16, 1929 dinner in the hotel’s Blossom Room. Guest tickets cost $5. The first presentation was the only one to escape a media audience; by the second year, enthusiasm for the Awards was such that a Los Angeles radio station produced a live one-hour broadcast of the event. The ceremony has been broadcast ever since. Starting with the 16th Oscar ceremony, which was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the event has always been held at a theater. In 1953, the first televised Oscar ceremony enabled millions throughout the United States and Canada to watch the proceedings. Broadcasting in color began in 1966, affording home viewers a chance to fully experience the dazzling allure of the event. Since 1969, the Oscar show has been broadcast internationally, now reaching movie fans in over 200 countries.

Four Seasons Hotel: The elegant Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills is a magnet for stars during Oscar weekend. The Oscar Weekend Package goes for $4,000 and includes two nights in a luxurious suite, spa treatments and dinner at the award-winning Gardens restaurant. It’s a hot spot to “see and been seen” during Oscar weekend.

Geoffrey Rush: The Best Actor category race is a tight one with Christian Bale, John Hawkes, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, and Geoffrey Rush all in the mix. Most film experts are expecting a win by Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech.

Honorary Awards: Francis Ford Coppola, Eli Watch, Jean-Luc Godard and Kevin Brownlow were this year’s Honorary Oscar Award winners. They were handed out on November 13, 2010.

International TV Audience: With more than 36 million viewers in the United States and hundreds of millions of others across the globe, the Academy Awards is one of the most popular TV events in the world.

James Franco and Anne Hathaway: For the first time in Oscar history a male/female team will share hosting duties. ABC is hoping to capture the youth market and enliven the night’s festivities by having James Franco and Anne Hathaway host the most important awards show of the year.

Kodak Theatre: Since its opening on November 9, 2001, the prestigious Kodak Theater has been the home of the annual Academy Awards. The first Oscars were held at the theatre in March of 2002, and it is the first permanent home of the Awards. Since 2002, it is also the home of American Idol. It has a seating capacity for up to 3.401 people, and its stage is one of the largest in the United States. Eastman paid $75 million to have its name associated with the theatre.

Live Red Carpet Shows: Some of the best Oscar fun comes from watching the celebrities walk the red carpet prior to entering the Kodak Theatre. E! begins its coverage at 6:00 ET/3:00 PT with Live From the Red Carpet. It’s hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic. TV Guide’s red carpet coverage also begins at 6 ET/3 CT with host Chris Harrington from The Bachelor.

Memorable Moments: From push-ups to protests, anything can happen on Oscar night. Some standout moments include Jack Palance doing a one-armed push-up after winning the Best Supporting Oscar in 1991, seeing Spielberg and Scorsese finally win well-deserved Oscars for Schindler’s List and The Departed, Woody Allen’s post 9-11 appearance to salute New York, David Niven and the 1974 streaker, and Sally Field exclaiming, “You really like me!” after winning the Best Actress Oscar for Places in the Heart in 1985.

Nominees: Here are the motion pictures with the most Academy Award nominations for 2011: The King’s Speech: 12; True Grit: 10; Inception: 8; The Social Network: 8; The Fighter: 7; 127 Hours: 6; Black Swan: 5; Toy Story 3: 5; The Kids Are All Right: 4; Winter’s Bone: 4; Alice in Wonderland: 3.

Oscar.com: Oscar All Access is a new premium service that gives Oscar fans the ultimate view of Hollywood's biggest night. Beginning with the Red Carpet, and continuing through the Governor's Ball, Oscar All Access members will get unprecedented, behind the scenes access and see the event like never before. With exclusive access to groundbreaking "360 cam" technology, members can direct their own Oscar experience with just the touch of a mouse. Just $4.99.

Presenters and Swag Bags: Stars clamor to be an Oscar presenter to snag one of the best goodie bags ever. They’re full of elite products with a value as high as $30,000. They include an array of electronic gadgets, gourmet treats, getaways, specialty beauty gifts, jewelry and much more. This year’s list of Oscar presenters include some of Hollywood’s biggest names, like Annette Benning, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law Helen Mirren, and more.

Queen of the Night: All indications point to a big Best Actress win by Natalie Portman for her stunning performance in the haunting film, Black Swan. This is one category where most film critics seem to agree.

The Razzies: This year’s RAZZIE® Awards are dominated by sequels, remakes and re-boots. The 2011 Worst Picture nominations include The Bounty Hunter, The Last Airbender, Sex & The City 2, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and Vampires Suck. The 2011 Razzie Awards take place at Hollywood's Barnsdall Gallery Theatre on Saturday, February 26th at 7:30 p.m.

Statuette: The most recognized trophy in the world, the Oscar statuette has stood on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history since 1929. The Award statuette features 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). It stands 13-1/2” high and weighs 8-1/2 pounds.

Traditions After the Awards: After the Best Picture award is presented, it’s time to party. The stars head out to hit at least one of the big Oscar parties in Hollywood. The studios usually host the biggest parties, but there are a slew of other popular post-Oscar events. Immediately following the Awards, most stars head over to the Governor’s Ball. After getting their picture taken, they quickly depart for the high-brow Vanity Fair soiree, an Oscar tradition since 1994. From there, it’s on to the private parties, like the ones hosted by Elton John, Madonna and Demi Moore. The most exclusive of all the Oscar parties, the one every actor dreams of one day being invited to, is the dinner hosted by Dani Janssen, wife of late actor David Janssen. This is where the likes of Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Barbara Streisand and Harrison Ford go following the Governor’s Ball.

Upsets and Underdogs: While the press always thinks they know who the Academy Award winners will be, an underdog or two usually manages to snatch a statuette away from the favorite. Just last year, little-seen indie film The Hurt Locker upset James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar for Best Film. This year’s underdogs include James Franco who has a good shot at upsetting favorite Colin Firth, Jacki Waever who could upset favorite Melissa Leo. Toy Story 3 is only the 3rd animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture. It’s a long shot, but if voters split their vote between The King’s Speech and The Social Network, Toy Story 3 could sneak in for an upset victory.

Visual Effects: Outstanding special effects can make a movie truly memorable. This year’s Oscar nominees for best Visual Effects are Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Hereafter, Inception and Iron Man 2.

Winter’s Bone: This gritty film about a girl’s search in the Ozark Mountains for her drug-dealing father is nominated for Best Picture. Although The King’s Speech is the favorite to win, Winter’s Bone is a strong contender. The film’s lead actress, Jennifer Lawrence is up for a Best Actress Oscar. Just today, Winter’s Bone received seven nominations for an Independent Spirit Award.

Youngest person to ever receive an Oscar: It was 5-year-old Shirley Temple in 1934. However, Shirley's Oscar was an honorary one. The youngest actress to win a standard Oscar was Tatum O'Neal, who was 10 years old when she won the Best Supporting Actress award for Paper Moon in 1974. The oldest, Jessica Tandy, won her Best Actress Oscar at age 81 for Driving Miss Daisy.

Zzzzzz… Greer Garison gave the longest Oscar acceptance speech in 1946. Clocked at 5-1/2 minutes, it holds the record! The 74th Academy Awards Show in 2002 was the longest Oscar broadcast ever. It was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and ran 4 hours and 17 minutes. It also pulled in the lowest ratings ever and was the Awards’ first high definition broadcast.

The 83rd Academy Awards airs at 8 ET/5 PT on Sunday, February 27th on ABC. For a complete list of this year’s nominees, go to www.cinemasight.com.

Sources: Toronto Sun, Oscar.go.com, ABC News, The Insider, Razzies.com, Showbiz and Style, E!

Do you want to stay in-the-know? Then sign up to get my articles personally delivered to your in-box. Just click on SUBSCRIBE, and you'll stay up-to-the-minute with your favorite television shows and stars.