Maria Esteves – February 23, 2012 Oscar Week New York 2012 Sixth Annual Meet the Oscars, Grand Central exhibit ribbon cutting opening ceremony presented by New York program director Patrick Harrison, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo (The Fighter, 2011) was held at Vanderbilt Hall East Side, Grand Central Terminal, New York, Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 10:00 AM. This year’s Meet the Oscar, Grand Central showcase H...

By Maria Esteves - February 24, 2011 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, New York program director Patrick Harrison introduce host Academy Award winning actress Whoopi Goldberg at Meet the Oscars, Grand Central Terminal Vanderbilt Hall Opening Ceremony, Wednesday, February 23, 2011. New York Oscar Week 2011: Meet the Oscars, Grand Central staff member describes How An Oscar Is Made Exhibit on display. The Oscar statuette manufactured by R.S. Owens &...

The Oscar statuette was designed in 1928 by Cedric Gibbons. MGM's chief art director and one of the Academy's founding members. Fredric Hope, who was then Gibbons' assistant, created the original Belgian black marble base, and artist George Stanley sculpted the design. The California Bronze Foundry hand-cast the first statuette in bronze plated with 24-karat gold.Today the statuettes are manufactured in Chicago by R.S. Owens & Company using a metal alloy called britannia. After the initial c...