Skip to main content

Germany and the Oscars

The Academy Awards is always good for surprises. Here some amazing background to the Hollywood spectacle.

16.02.2015
© Büttenpapierfabrik Gmund GmbH & Co. KG - Oscars

From Upper Bavaria to Hollywood

There are magical moments when the golden envelopes are opened at the Academy Awards and the speaker says “And the Oscar goes to …”. The promising, shimmering paper for these special envelopes has been provided since 2012 by the Upper Bavarian handmade-paper mill Gmund. The family company, which has been established since 1829, specializes in fine paper and cardboard boxes. The American designer Marc Friedländer, who designs the Oscar envelopes, is enthusiastic about the paper manufacturers from Tegernsee.

Documentary film star Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders became famous for feature films such as Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987), but in the United States he is a star documentary filmmaker. In 2015, the German director has received his third nomination for an Oscar in the category of “Documentation” for his Salt of the Earth. The film is a homage to Sebastião Salgado, the master of social photography. Previously, Wenders’s Pina (2011), about the dance legend Pina Bausch, and his musicians documentary Buena Vista Social Club (1999) were among their years’ five candidates for the best documentary film.

Demanding German Oscar winner

Hollywood has seen many unusual careers. The story of Luise Rainer, born in Düsseldorf in 1910, is probably one of the most unusual. In the 1930s, Rainer won two Oscars in a row for Best Actress, prevailing over the likes of Greta Garbo and Barbara Stanwyck. She is thus the only German ever to have won an Oscar for acting. Yet her career was as short as it was successful. It ended abruptly in 1938 after, it is said, a quarrel with MGM boss Louis B. Mayer. Rainer demanded more challenging scripts. After this, the talented German actress accepted only a few more roles; turning to painting, she lived in London until her death in 2014.

The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, 22 February 2015 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles

http://de.gmund.com

www.wim-wenders.com

http://oscar.go.com

© www.deutschland.de