Franglais27 Tales

Ahead of the 97th Academy Awards which mark the end of the awards season for 2024/ 2025, you might have, of course, read countless articles about the predictions for the winning nominees of tonight’s ceremony. Indeed, this ceremony on Sunday 2 March 2025, is a week earlier than it was in 2024 but this article is not going to talk you through each of the films and provide an opinion on their chances based on the Academy’s previous choices, of which there are many!

The Best Picture options for 2025 are vastly different and the preferences for one film over the other have dramatically changed in a number of weeks! Whilst we would love to hear about your favourites from the 10 contenders listed below, please mention these in the comments, we are going to take you through some Oscars trivia instead.

The Best Picture nominations for the 2025 Oscars range from biopics to papal drama to musical adaptations and more! Here is the complete list:

Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked

Have you made your choices? Now, let’s delve into some Oscars trivia!

1) The First Academy Awards

The first academy awards were held in 16 May 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, with approximately 270 guests including Charlie Chaplin.  This event was reported to be more of a dinner banquet than an awards ceremony as it was held some three months after the winners had officially been announced!  At these first awards, a three course dinner including broiled chicken, potatoes, green beans and sole fillet sautéed in butter. There was cake with ice cream as dessert.

2) The Godfather

Did you know that the profits from the first two Godfather films were used to establish Oscar winner director Francis Ford Coppola’s winery in Sonoma County and Napa in California, USA?
However, Francis Ford Coppola sold part of his winery, for approximately USD 500 million, to fund the film Megalopolis! Following the sale it is just Inglenook and Domaine de Broglie Winery and vineyard that remain separately owned and run by the Coppola family.

3) Marilyn Monroe

Were you aware that Piper Heidsieck, which was an Official Champagne partner to the Oscars, was Marilyn Monroe’s favourite champagne?  Monroe was an Oscar presenter but unfortunately never a nominee. A bottle of Piper Heidsieck first appeared in the 1933 debut Laurel and Hardy film, Sons of the Desert.

4) Ridley Scott

Oscar nominated director Ridley Scott also owns a winery, Mas des Infermières in the Luberon in Provence, did you know?

5) Official wines

Prince Robert of Luxembourg who is the President and CEO of Domaine Clarence Dillon, which is the Official wine partner to the Oscars,  had started his career as a screenwriter. 2025 will be the third year in a row in which Domaine Clarence Dillon is a partner to the Oscars.

We would love to hear your thoughts about tonight’s Oscars ceremony and whether there was anything new that you learnt from these above fun facts!