The 50th Academy Awards were held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California on April 3, 1978. The ceremonies were presided over by Bob Hope, who hosted the awards for the eighteenth and last time.
Two of the year's biggest winners were Star Wars, which swept the technical categories by winning 6 out of its 10 nominations and a Special Achievement for Sound Effects Editing, and Annie Hall, winning 4 out of 5 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director. This incarnation of the awards show was also notable for a very politically charged acceptance speech by Vanessa Redgrave.
The Turning Point set the record for the most nominations without a win with 11 nominations. It was previously held by Peyton Place and The Little Foxes which both had 9 noms with no wins. This still holds the record and is tied with The Color Purple for this record.
Annie Hall marked the last Best Picture winner to be nominated for just 5 awards until The Departed 29 years later in 2006.
Read more about 50th Academy Awards: Awards, Redgrave Speech
Famous quotes containing the word academy:
“I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike—and I don’t think there really is a distinction between the two—are always dominated by fools, knaves, charlatans and bureaucrats. And that being the case, any human being, male or female, of whatever status, who has a voice of her or his own, is not going to be liked.”
—Harold Bloom (b. 1930)