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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began as a non-profit organization founded by 36 people, including Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studio, and the actress Mary Pickford in 1927. The Academy sought to represent the five different branches of the film industry, actors, directors, producers, writers and technicians and to "encourage the improvement and advancement of the arts and sciences of the profession by the interchange of constructive ideas awards of merit for distinctive achievements."

The first Academy Awards® ceremony was held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on May 16th, 1929. It was a small, dinner banquet of 250 guests, 13 categories of awards and no radio or television coverage. Many of the winners were notified and presented with their awards beforehand with the ceremony serving as a mere congratulatory dinner.

Today the Academy boasts membership of over 6,000 professionals and 15 branches representing the film industry. The Academy does not disclose its membership to the public and prospective members must be nominated or invited to join. Nominees are automatically extended an invitation.

The Academy's strict rules and procedures from the voting process to the actual award night has elevated the "award night" into a prestigious, glamorous, and much anticipated television event, watched by millions all over the world. Some of the rules include: films must have a release date no later than December 25th, and must play at an Academy approved theater in the New York or Los Angeles area to be eligible for nomination; and members of the Academy can only vote in the categories for which they belong, with Best Picture being the exception. Since 1940 the accounting firm Price Waterhouse has hand counted the ballots and two representatives (in case something should happen to the other) have hand-delivered the results in sealed envelope to the award show.