text: It took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California for the 19th consecutive year, along with satellite location taking place at the Union Station also in Los Angeles.Because of the virus impact on films and TV industries, Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson announced that for the 2021 Oscar Ceremony, streaming movies with a previously planned theatrical release were eligible.The theatrical requirement was reinstated starting with the 95th Academy Awards.Oscar statuette Academy Award of Merit The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette.Made of gold-plated bronze on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34.3 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.856 kg), and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes.The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.Sculptor George Stanley (who also did the Muse Fountain at the Hollywood Bowl) sculpted Cedric Gibbons' design.The statuettes presented at the initial ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze.Within a few years, the bronze was abandoned in favor of Britannia metal, a pewter-like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally, 24-karat gold.Due to a metal shortage during World War II, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years.Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.The only addition to the Oscar since it was created is a minor streamlining of the base.The original Oscar mold was cast in 1928 at the C.W.Shumway & Sons Foundry in Batavia, Illinois, which also contributed to casting the molds for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Emmy Award statuettes.From 1983 to 2015, approximately 50 Oscars in a tin alloy with gold plating were made each year in Chicago by Illinois manufacturer R.S.Owens & Company.