No matter which one of them wins on March 7, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, and Helen Mirren won't be the first to see the Best Actress Oscar. How come?
According to a press release from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar fans in New York will be first in line to take a look at the actual Oscar statuette to be presented to the Best Actress winner at the 2010 Academy Awards. The statuette will be part of the “Meet the Oscars, New York,” exhibition presented by Kodak, at The Shops at Columbus Circle at Time Warner Center.
“Meet the Oscars, New York” opens Thursday, February 25, and runs through Sunday, March 7. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free.
As per the release, “Meet the Oscars, New York” will also allow movie fans to have their picture taken holding an actual Oscar statuette. Additionally, the exhibition will show the statuettes in various stages of completion, as manufactured by R.S. Owens & Company in Chicago, plus the miniature statuette Judy Garland received for her "juvenile" screen performances in 1939 (that includes Babes in Arms and The Wizard of Oz), and the Scientific and Technical Award – an Oscar statuette – presented to the Eastman Kodak Company in 2007 “for the development of photographic emulsion technologies incorporated into the Kodak Vision2 family of color negative films."
On Friday, March 5, the statuette designated for this year’s Best Actress will travel to Hollywood where it will be reunited with the other Oscar statuettes to be presented on March 7.
Oscar fans in Chicago will also have the opportunity to see an Oscar firsthand at "Meet the Oscars, Chicago," at The Shops at North Bridge on Michigan Avenue. "Meet the Oscars, Chicago" also will be open from Thursday, February 25, through Sunday, March 7.
The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 7 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. In the United States, it'll be televised live by ABC.
Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer