Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film

Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1940).
EVERETT COLLECTION. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.
support for writers. The Center for Motion Picture
Study, home of the Margaret Herrick Library and the
Academy Film Archive, provides extensive motion picture
resources for scholarly research as well as facilities for
film screenings and the Academy Foundation Lecture
Series. The Academy Foundation, under the auspices of
ÓA.M.P.A.S. Ò, coordinates scholarships, college student
Academy Awards Ò, and film preservation.
THEACADEMYSCIENCEAND
TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL
Responding to dramatic technological changes, especially
those introduced by digital manipulation,
ÓA.M.P.A.S. Ò’s Board of Governors officially created
the Academy Science and Technology Council in 2003.
The Council’s mission includes four goals: to advance the
science of motion pictures and foster cooperation for
technological progress in support of the art; to sponsor
publications and foster educational activities that facilitate
understanding of historical and new developments
both within the industry and for the wider public audience;
to preserve the history of the science and technology
of motion pictures; and to provide a forum and
common meeting ground for the exchange of informa-
Academy Awards Ò
tion and to promote cooperation among divergent technological
interests, with the objective of increasing the
quality of the theatrical motion picture experience. In
addition, the Council serves as a resource for the
Scientific and Technical Awards program, though the
Council itself does not administer them.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
In its history, only three films have swept all five of the
most important Academy AwardsÒ: Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Writing. It
Happened One Night first accomplished this feat in 1934
for director Frank Capra, actress Claudette Colbert, actor
Clark Gable, and writer Robert Riskin (for Best Writing
Adaptation). Over forty years later, in 1975, One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest swept the Awards for director
Milos Forman, actress Louise Fletcher, actor Jack
Nicholson, and writers Lawrence Hauben and Bo
Goldman (Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted from
Other Material). In 1991 The Silence of the Lambs
became the third film to achieve this landmark for director
Jonathan Demme, actress Jodie Foster, actor Anthony
Hopkins, and writer Ted Tally (Best Writing, Screenplay
Based on Material from Another Medium).
Other films have won more OscarsÒ. The record as
of 2005 was held by three films that each won eleven
Academy AwardsÒ: Ben-Hur, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
1959 (12 nominations); Titanic, Twentieth Century
Fox and Paramount, 1997 (14 nominations); and The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, New Line, 2003
(11 nominations). Only two films have received fourteen
nominations: Titanic and All About Eve (1950), which
took home six awards. Meryl Streep (b. 1949) holds the
record for the most acting award nominations (13);
Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) remains the only
actress to have achieved the feat of four Best Actress
OscarsÒ. Bette Davis follows the record holders, with
ten nominations and two OscarsÒ. Jack Nicholson holds
the Academy record among male actors, with twelve
nominations and three OscarsÒ. Laurence Olivier
(1907–1989) received ten nominations and one
OscarÒ. As of 2005, forty-seven actors had received five
or more OscarÒ nominations.
Among legendary directors, William Wyler (1902–
1981) received twelve nominations, seven in the consecutive
years from 1936 to 1942, and three OscarsÒ. However, John Ford (1894–1973) holds the most Best
Director Awards, at four out of five nominations. It
should be noted that many individuals in other areas
(costume design, cinematography, art direction) have
received many more nominations; for example, art director
Cedric Gibbons received thirty-eight nominations
and won eleven times, and costume designer Edith
SCHIRMER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM 7