The Academy Awards started in 1929 as an intimate, formal-dinner gathering of friends in the industry at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel.
The awards dinner gained momentum after World War II and became so popular, it started being broadcast on television starting in 1953, where it was known as The Academy Awards until 2013, when it was rebranded as The Oscars. That's the nickname of the statue; some say that nickname came from Bette Davis, who named it after one of her husbands, and some say the Academy's secretary thought the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar. Either way, the name stuck.
In all of that 86-year history, there are three films that have tied for winning the most statuettes of Uncle Oscar: Ben Hur, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and the 1997 release, Titanic.
It was at the '98 Oscars that Titanic won 11 awards, including Best Director for James Cameron and Best Picture. It also walked away with both music awards, for Best Original Score (composed by James Horner) and for Best Original Song, "My Heart Will Go On," which became a big hit and the signature tune of the woman who sang it in the soundtrack, Céline Dion.
You probably remember the first time in the movie when you saw, in that widescreen shot, the RMS Titanic out at sea. It was a breathtaking cinematic moment.
On this week's Flicks in Five, we'll listen to "Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch" from the Titanic soundtrack, composed by James Horner.
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