Just a few days remain until the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, the most glamorous night in Hollywood. And there is a long list of movies you need to watch in preparation – The King’s Speech, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, True Grit and Toy Story 3 to name just a few.
But don’t forget to iPhone it up. For those of you who love to analyze every angle of every film (or for those who need a bit of a cheat sheet) there are a bunch of handy iPhone apps to feed the frenzy. So grab a bowl of popcorn and get ready, you never know what bit of Oscar history you will be taking-in on February 27.
A good place to start is The Academy’s own The Oscars app (free). It is broken down into two main categories: The Academy and The Oscars. In The Academy section you will find related news, photos and video. It also has a fabulous database of past winners which can be searched by category or decade. Do you want to know who won for best actor in a leading role in 1952? You can find it in the database: Gary Cooper for his role in High Noon.
If you are the opinionated type, then you must be dying to put in your two cents with a vote. The Vanity Fair Hollywood: Oscars Edition app (free) allows users to vote in 27 categories. It probably includes the ones you barely know anything about, like “Achievement in Makeup,” too. Download this app, and you’ll have a shot at winning a free trip for two to Los Angeles.
The Awards Guide: The Oscars app (free) also allows you to vote for your favorite film, or actors and actresses. And this app shows real-time voting results, so you can know where your top picks stand. The app also includes a nice feature wherein users can see not only past Oscar winners, but also how many times an individual was nominated and for what. This is a great feature, given that some of the best films ever made were overlooked by Academy voters.
For the very best in movie history, check out the Oscars History app ($1.99). It includes a great trivia game with questions like “Who was the youngest winner of an acting award? (from Paper Moon, 1973).” It was Tatum O’Neal at 10-years old.
As lovely as they are, we all know that the Oscars aren’t just about the movies. Built around it is an entire industry of parties, red carpet events, stylists and lots of very expensive fashion. Day-after analysis often includes as much talk about sartorial decisions as it does about who went home with the little bronze statues. That is why the Live From the Red Carpet app (free) is an absolute must-have. From the one-shoulder dresses to the Christian Louboutins, it’s all there.
And just for good laughs, we are going to toss in Movie Awards Crossword ($1.99). With this app, you can play one of your favorite games, sharpen the mind and brush up on movie data and trivia.
