Academy Awards & the Movies: Several Databases (Free) from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
The 82nd Annual Academy Awards take place on Sunday, so we thought it's a good time to share several searchable databases worth knowing about. Actually, they're not only worth knowing about for ready reference but these databases might be valuable to a variety of researchers. Access to all of these resources is free.
First, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the organization that puts on the Oscars) has its own Academy Awards Database.
The Academy Awards Database contains the record of past Academy Award winners and nominees, including Scientific and Technical Award winners. Basic and advanced search options are available as well as an option to browse statistics.
Every year the Academy gathers credits from films hoping to qualify for the Academy Awards. Compiled and verified by the film’s producer or distributor, these credits also include production and releasing companies, MPAA ratings, running times, Los Angeles release dates, color, language, song titles, source authors and source material.
This database contains the full text of the speech the award winner made on stage as they accepted their Oscar. Do you remember Joe Pesci's six word speech after he won the 1990 Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Goodfellas?
Finally, two databases that will be of greatest interest to researchers in the Los Angele-area.
This database is an inventory of the motion picture script holdings of six Los Angeles-area libraries. It is limited almost exclusively to the screenplays of produced films; that is, films which were actually made. The only exception is the inclusion of a few published scripts of unproduced films.
With over 10 million photographs, 300,000 clipping files, 80,000 screenplays 35,000 movie posters and 32,000 books, the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library maintains one of the most extensive collections of movie-related materials ever assembled.
The library is open to the public but materials do not circulate. They do provide an e-mail reference service.
2) Just today, WolframAlpha announced that they now provide access to Academy Award content. You'll find info about actors, directors, screenwriters, costume designers, sound editors, cinematographers, and others. You can learn more here and also take a look at a few examples.
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