50th Academy Awards

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50th Academy Awards
Date Monday, April 3, 1978
Site Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
Host Bob Hope
Producer Howard W. Koch
Director Marty Pasetta
TV in the United States
Network ABC
Duration 3 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings 39.73 million
31.1% (Nielsen ratings)[1]

The 50th Academy Awards were held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California on April 3, 1978. The ceremonies were presided over by Bob Hope, who hosted the awards for the eighteenth and last time. Two of the year's biggest winners were Star Wars, which swept the Oscars by winning 6 out of 10 nominations, and Annie Hall, winning 4 out of 5 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director. This incarnation of the awards show was also notable for a very politically-charged acceptance speech by Vanessa Redgrave.

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[edit] Redgrave speech

During the ceremony, Vanessa Redgrave won the Best Supporting Actress award for Julia, and, aware of members of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) protesting outside, made the following comments:

“ My dear colleagues, I thank you very much for this tribute to my work. I think that Jane Fonda, and I have done the best work of our lives and I think this is in part due to our director, Fred Zinnemann. [Audience applause.]

And I also think it's in part because we believed and we believe in what we were expressing--two out of millions who gave their lives and were prepared to sacrifice everything in the fight against fascist and racist Nazi Germany.

And I salute you, and I pay tribute to you, and I think you should be very proud that in the last few weeks you've stood firm, and you have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums [gasps from the audience, followed by a smattering of boos and clapping] whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression. [General applause]

And I salute that record and I salute all of you for having stood firm and dealt a final blow against that period when Nixon and McCarthy launched a worldwide witch-hunt against those who tried to express in their lives and their work the truth that they believe in [some boos and hissing]. I salute you and I thank you and I pledge to you that I will continue to fight against anti-Semitism and fascism.

 ”

Two hours later,[2] when it came his turn to announce an award winner (for Best Writing), Paddy Chayefsky, perturbed by what he perceived as "cracks about Jews"[3] at the Academy Awards, replied:

“ Before I get on to the writing awards, there's a little matter I'd like to tidy up--at least if I expect to live with myself tomorrow morning. I would like to say, personal opinion, of course, that I'm sick and tired of people exploiting the Academy Awards [loud applause] for the propagation of their own personal propaganda.

I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple 'thank you' would have sufficed. [Loud applause.]

 ”

[edit] Star Wars

Released in May 1977, Star Wars was the year's highest-grossing motion picture. At the time, no other science-fiction film had been a contender for the Oscars, save Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey which was nominated for its direction and won an Oscar for its visual effects. For the ceremony, Anthony Daniels was a presenter in character as C3PO. Out of 32 nominations the studio Twentieth Century Fox gained, the film was nominated for the ten categories as follows:

Note: The winners below are those listed in strongly emphasized text.

In addition, sound effect artist Ben Burtt was also awarded an Honorary Achievement Oscar for creating the sound effects of the creatures, robots, and resurrecting the now-common Wilhelm scream.

[edit] Winners

See also: 50th Academy Awards nominees

[edit] Feature Films

[edit] Acting

Category Winner Movie
Best actor in a leading role Richard Dreyfuss The Goodbye Girl
Best actress in a leading role Diane Keaton Annie Hall
Best actor in a supporting role Jason Robards Julia
Best actress in a supporting role Vanessa Redgrave Julia

[edit] Special honors

The Academy gave the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to Walter Mirisch and The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Charlton Heston.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Numbers Guy : And the Oscar Goes to... Fewer TV Viewers
  2. ^ John Bradey, "The craft of the screenwriter", 1981. Page 57
  3. ^ John Bradey, "The craft of the screenwriter", 1981. Page 57

[edit] See also

[edit] External links