The Hollywood Hills will soon be set aflutter, as the stars of screen pen their acceptance speeches and rehearse their red carpet sashays in preparation for the 81st Academy Awards. These stars--with the spotlight often on their personal lives as much as their performances--we know all too well. Yet few know much about the Academy's most important guest of the evening: Oscar himself. Far from the paparazzi and tabloid presses, Oscar is making his own preparations at Chicago's R.S. Owens & Company. In fact, the specialty awards company has been the exclusive crafter of the iconic statuettes since 1982. An annual run of Oscars takes three to four weeks to complete, and as Chicagoist found out firsthand, there is a great deal of substance behind the glitz and glam we see on stage. more ›

Whew, thank goodness that's over. We were beginning to think that our planned big-ass Oscar preview would be falling on deaf ears. But now that we know there's really going to be a show, it's time to play catch up. Jon Stewart certainly is. In fact there'll probably be more glitz than ever this year if only to overcompensate for the lack of a proper build-up. more ›