Every Oscar fist-pumped or tearfully cradled by Academy Award winners is first cast, buffed and fussed over at a foundry far from Hollywood.
Workers at the Polich Tallix fine art foundry, about 50 miles north of New York City, began work in late September on the awards to be handed out Feb. 26. Each of the 60 Oscars shipped from the hangar-like production floor is 13½ inches tall with the same distinctive Art Deco features polished to a mirror finish. Each glossy black base lacks only a winner’s nameplate, which is added after the ceremony.
Polich Tallix, which began making the awards last year, tweaked the look of the stylized knight with an eye toward the original statuettes handed out in 1929. The path of these new statues from a small town in upstate New York to center stage in Hollywood might not be the stuff of movies.
But it’s worth a close-up.
CASTING CALL
Every Oscar starts with a version made of wax, which is repeatedly dipped into a cream-colored ceramic slurry. The ceramic hardens and the wax is melted out to make way for molten bronze. What’s left once the ceramic mold is chipped away is a sort of rough-hewn version of the elegant icon.
This story is from the February 18, 2017 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 18, 2017 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EUROPEAN UNION QUESTIONS TIKTOK ON NEW APP THAT PAYS USERS FOR WATCHING
European Union regulators said this week they’re seeking details from TikTok on a new app from the video sharing platform that pays users to watch videos.
FACED WITH POSSIBLY PAYING FOR NEWS, GOOGLE REMOVES LINKS TO CALIFORNIA NEWS SITES FOR SOME USERS
Google began removing California news websites from some people’s search results, a test that acted as a threat should the state Legislature pass a law requiring the search giant to pay media companies for linking to their content.
UBER AND LYFT DELAY THEIR PLANS TO LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS AFTER OFFICIALS PUSH BACK DRIVER PAY PLAN
The ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft said they will delay their planned exit from Minneapolis after city officials decided to push back the start of a driver pay raise by two months.
NASA IS SEEKING A FASTER AND CHEAPER WAY TO BRING MARS SAMPLES TO EARTH
NASA’s plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there’s a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said.
TESLA TO ASK SHAREHOLDERS TO REINSTATE $55 BILLION PAY PACKAGE FOR MUSK REJECTED BY DELAWARE JUDGE
Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate a compensation package for CEO Elon Musk potentially worth $55 billion that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric car maker’s corporate home from Delaware to Texas.
MICROSOFT INVESTS $1.5 BILLION IN AI FIRM G42, OVERSEEN BY UAE'S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in a technology firm based in the United Arab Emirates and overseen by the country’s powerful national security adviser.
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIAL WARNS AI SYSTEMS SUBJECT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION, ANTI-BIAS LAWS
Developers, suppliers, and users of artificial intelligence must comply with existing state consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data privacy laws, the Massachusetts attorney general cautioned this week.
AMAZON REMOVED JUST WALK OUT FROM MANY OF ITS OWN STORES BUT WANTS TO SELL THE SYSTEM TO OTHERS
Amazon wants the public and - especially other businesses - to know it's not giving up on its Just Walk Out technology.
NISSAN SAYS IT WILL MAKE NEXT-GENERATION EV BATTERIES BY EARLY 2029
Nissan expects to mass produce electric vehicles powered by advanced next-generation batteries by early 2029, the company said this week during a media tour of an unfinished pilot plant.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AGREES TO PROVIDE $6.4 BILLION TO SAMSUNG FOR MAKING COMPUTER CHIPS IN TEXAS
The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.