Statuettes to be personalized Oscar night

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- This year's Academy Award winners will be able to have their Oscar statuettes personalized at the Governors Ball in Los Angeles, organizers said Tuesday.

The ball is to immediately follow the presentation of the 82nd Academy Awards March 7.

In preparation for the night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will create 197 nameplates, one for each 2009 nominee in every category. The engraving will include the nominee's name, category, film title and year. After the winners have been announced, the unused nameplates will be recycled.

"An Oscar statuette just isn't complete until a nameplate is attached," Academy President Tom Sherak said in a statement. "The Governors Ball is the perfect place for Oscar winners to add that final touch as they celebrate their accomplishment and the year's movies."

Previously, Academy Award winners were asked to bring their Oscars to the Academy in the weeks following the ceremony, at which time the nameplates -- engraved only after the winners were announced -- were affixed to the statuettes.

At the Governors Ball, which will be take place at the Grand Ballroom on the top level of the Hollywood & Highland Center, Academy Award winners will be invited to enter a specially designed area where Academy technicians will affix the personalized nameplates to each Oscar, the Academy said.