Courtesy Photo An Oscar statuette.

On Sunday, the red carpet will be rolled out in front of Hollywood’s Dolby Theater for the 96th annual Academy Awards.

Opened in 2001, the 180,000-square-foot theater will accommodate 3,400 guests.

The Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC beginning at 7 p.m.

For a fourth year, talk show host and producer Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars.

A BRIEF HISTORY

In 1926, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gathered for dinner at Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel. Their focus was to devise a method to honor achievements and recognize high-level facets of motion picture production.

Following that initial meeting, an MGM art director sketched an award figure of a knight gripping a sword standing in front of a reel of film. Oscar was born.

On May 16, 1929, 15 Oscars were awarded at Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel. Since then, more than 3,000 Oscars have been awarded.

Currently, there are 24 award categories.

SOME FACTS ON OSCAR

Oscar stands 13-and-a-half inches tall and weighs in at 8.5 pounds. The rumors of who Oscar is named after are numerous. The most prevalent is actress Betty Davis claimed in 1936 it was named after her first husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson. Another folklore theory was an Academy librarian and later executive director thought the statue resembled her uncle Oscar.

During World War II, rather than being bronze and 23-karat-gold-plated, Oscar was made of plaster. After the war, the statue could be traded in for the real thing.

When a winner receives an Oscar, the Academy cites that your acceptance speech can be no more than 45 seconds.

MICHIGAN TIES

Growing up in Manistee County, James Earl Jones received an Oscar for best actor in 1971’s “The Great White Hope.” He has appeared and offered his voice in numerous other movies and commercials, such as the voice of Star Wars’ Darth Vader.

Charlton Heston spent numerous years of his youth in northern Michigan.

Known for dozens of acting roles, he also was president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. In 1960, he was awarded an Oscar for Best Actor in “Ben Hur.”

In 2015, Grosse Pointe Wood’s Jonathan K. Simmons received an Oscar for Best Actor in “Whiplash.” He also received a Golden Globe for “Whiplash.” Other movie roles for Simmons include “True Grit” and “Spiderman.”

Born and raised in Detroit, Ellen Burstyn was a 1974 Oscar recipient for Best Actress in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” She also appeared in 1973’s “The Exorcist.”

In 2002, Flint-area native Michael Moore was recognized with an Oscar for the documentary “Bowling for Columbine.” In 2005, he established the Traverse City Film Festival.

Also born and raised in Detroit is Janet Cole, who later changed her name to Kim Hunter at the encouragement of agent David O. Selznick. In 1951, she received an Oscar for Best Actress in “A Streetcar Named Desire.” She portrayed a scientist in the original “Planet of the Apes.” Her last starring role was in the 1997 movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

TIDBITS ON MUSICAL SCORES

Many movie aspects can be cradled in your memory. But perhaps the most memorable are musical scores which were recognized by the Academy beginning in 1934.

John Williams is cited with five Oscars for his compositions. Most recognizable by Williams are “Jaws,” “E.T.,” and “Star Wars.”

However, during the late 1930s and into the 1960s, Alfred Newman received nine Academy Awards for musical scores. Those included “The King” and “I and Camelot.”

THE OSCAR GIFT BAG

Since 2002, the Academy has given winners and losers a gift bag.

Research has shown bag contents have ranged in value from $20,000 in 2002 to a high of $232,000 in 2016. Hollywood pundits state bag contents are seen as a high-level opportunity for a company to expose its brand and product offerings.

Bags include the usual assortment of chocolates, items for pets and children, and cosmetics. But, in several years, the bags included vacation voucher packages and spa services.

For select 2024 recipients, the bag includes an all-inclusive stay at Switzerland’s Chalet Zermatt Peak (valued at $100,000), a seven-day wellness retreat at the Golden Door in San Marcos, California, and three nights at a St. Barth’s private villa.

By the way, according to the IRS, most bag contents are taxable. In one recent year, a 1099 form was inserted into the bag.