Trivia you might not know about the Oscars

With the 2023 Oscars taking place this Sunday, here’s a look at some of the most intriguing trivia facts about the prestigious 95-year-old awards show.

Six Oscar ties

There have been six ties throughout the entirety of Oscars history. Part of the reason rests in pre-1950 Academy Awards rules, which stated that anything within three votes of the winner would be considered a tie.

Jack Nicholson gets his accolades

To date, Jack Nicholson has received the most Oscar nominations out of any male actor. He was nominated for twelve categories thus far, though the actor has not publicized any plans of returning to acting.

Oscars wins become top-secret

Back in 1940, the newspaper The L.A. Times made a choice that would change Oscars ceremonies indefinitely. The paper broke the Academy’s embargo and released the names of the winners to the public in their evening edition of the paper, published the night before the ceremony.

Since then, the Oscars introduced top-secret envelopes that are only opened upon the live announcement - a characteristic of the awards ceremony still present 83 years later.

Winners don’t own the statues

Surprisingly, Oscar winners do not automatically get to own their statues and do with them what they please. Before they take home their prize, they sign an agreement with the Academy stating as much.

In the agreement, Oscar winners must agree that should they wish to sell the trophy in the future, they are obligated to first present an offer directly to the Academy. This offer would allow the Academy to buy the statue for $1.

If Oscar winners do not sign an agreement, they cannot keep the award.

Speeches on a timer

In 2002, the Academy Awards ceremony lasted a whopping four hours and twenty-three minutes. After that night, the Academy introduced a new rule for speeches: no longer than 45 seconds.

If a speech runs longer than 45 seconds, the orchestra will begin playing over the speaker, hinting that their time is up.

Family of Oscar winners

In 1972, actress Liza Minnelli won an Oscar for her performance in ‘Cabaret’. This made her the first Oscar winner whose parents had also previously each won an Oscar.

Minnelli’s mother Judy Garland was one of the most notable stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era, and received an honorary award in 1939. Minnelli’s father Vincente Minnelli directed the 1958 film ‘Gigi’, winning in the categories Best Picture and Best Director.