The Oscars didn’t start as a global spectacle. They started as a side project.
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launched in 1927, it was trying to figure out what it actually stood for. The awards committee was just one of many groups the new organization had created. Presenting awards? That was on the table. But it wasn’t a priority. The industry was too busy establishing itself.
Then came May 1928.
That’s when the Academy finally approved the committee’s suggestions. They decided to hand out Academy Awards of Merit. There were only 12 categories. Just a dozen.
It was a small decision. But it changed everything.
