Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards

by Mason Wiley and Damien Bona

Book Overview

ACCLAIM FOR INSIDE OSCAR "A giddy social history of our place and time...Mr. Wiley and Mr. Bona have found just the right tone for writing about this most particular of American phenomena." --Vincent... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345344537
• ISBN13: 9780345344533
• Release Date: February 1987
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 869 Pages
• Weight: 3.70 lbs.

Customer Reviews

THE definitive reference tool for ALL Oscar fans!

For everyone who gets 'movie madness' every March by eagerly anticipating Oscar night, this is a must-own book. It is the bible of Oscar knowledge and includes every nomination and winner from 1927 until the mid-90's. It is by far the greatest Academy Award reference tool that is available and just by paging through the nominee list in the back for a few minutes, your video rental list will grow by the foot. The first portion gives the reader a quick history lesson including how the illustrious Academy began and how the golden statue got his trademark name. Following that, every year gets its own chapter in which the authors tell of the studio campaigns to get their films nominated, what the critics and gossip writers were reporting at the time, and who got a nominee and who got screwed. The chapter ends with an "Oscar Night," section, which goes down to the most minute detail of each Awards ceremony from the lame jokes the host tried to crack ("U-ma, O-prah!"),to the most flubbed speeches, embarrassing dance performances (Rob Lowe and Snow White?!), timeless quotes ("You like me, you really like me!") and hideous dresses. It also gives the list of presenters and the highlights of the post-Awards parties. The back though, with the nominee history, is easily my favorite and one can spent countless hours paging through and remembering the classic films of years past or debating with friends about who got robbed in the best supporting category in 1962. I like to use the back as a checklist of what I've seen and need to see next. My paperback edition is thoroughly warped and I hope the authors put out a new edition or else mine is going to fall apart soon. A warning though, the book does get rather depressing in April because that means there's 11 more months until next year's big show!

A dishy classic, it's the ONE movie book you've gotta own.

Wiley and Bona have created the premier reference work on the Oscars - the complete list of nominees and victors, taking up the book's final 200 pages, is reason enough to buy it. It's the liveliest reference work you'll ever read: Each annual essay contains bite-size recollections of the impact (or lack of same) of movies big and small, at the box office and in the press, full of dishy reviews and catty responses. Each essay year has info that the most dedicated movie buff won't remember or never knew, particularly the fascinating narrations of Tinseltown Oscar campaigns. The level of detail is astonishing, down to which '90s ceremony participants did and didn't wear AIDS ribbons. Lovingly detailed descriptions of ceremony attire, highlights of speeches and host schtick - good and (much more often) bad, and follow-ups to big wins, failed campaigns and Oscar night emabarrassments never fail to fascinate. The book is more than 1,000 pages long, and once it's over, you'll be begging for more. Guys, write about 1995-99! If you have the first edition (which runs through 1987), buy the latest edition (which runs through 1994). The new essays are even more exhaustive, since the source material is contemporary, and, presumably, contains the authors' firsthand reporting. Only one quibble: In a book stuffed with deliciously nasty commentary from film reviewers, Wiley and Bona beg off from relating John Simon's "too cruel" criticisms of Sofia Coppola in The Godfather, Part III. Mason, Damien: You don't pull a punch anywhere else in your masterpiece. WHAT DID HE SAY?

Oscar Euphoria!

This book is amazing. Its year-by-year descriptions are historical and often suspensful. I remember the first time I read this book, before I knew the outcome of many of the years' awards; each year was a new drama with Mr. Wiley and company setting up the atmosphere of the race. Now, fifteen years later, I own the latest edition of Inside Oscar. It is a constant source of amusement and information. The writing is skillful and clever, and the categorical listing at the back is an invaluable reference. Every year during Oscar season, I will pick up an article by some journalist whose grasp of Oscar history is minimal, and I wonder why they don't just look up who REALLY won in Inside Oscar. I know Mr. Wiley is no longer with us, but I hope Mr. Bona and company continue the great work for future editions. I know I'd love to be a contributor to this tremendous work.

The winner is...."Inside Oscar"

If you enjoy the hype of the Academy Awards, this is the book for you. Plenty of behind-the-scenes action that you're not going to find by simply watching the Academy Awards. It's gossipy, dishy, and dirty...a definite guilty pleasure. Great index of past Academy Award winners and nominees as well.