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Oscar Envelope Gets A Makeover

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Like many a star attending the Academy Awards, Oscar's winners' envelope is getting a makeover.

For 70 years, the envelope -- as in "the envelope, please" -- was nothing more than a plain, white paper envelope, the kind available at any office supply store.

This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is glamming up the way it unveils the names of those winning the industry's highest honor: It's replacing the plain white envelope with a custom-designed keepsake envelope and announcement card that looks great on TV.

"The idea of the envelope was created by the Oscars, so this really is THE envelope," says Steve Bass, the production designer for this year's show who helped usher in a new envelope era. "It made so much sense to heighten the visual experience of what the envelope is."

The new envelope, designed by Marc Friedland, is made of iridescent gold paper watermarked with little images of Oscar. It's lined with shiny red paper embossed with gold Oscars. The winner's name appears on a heavy piece of lacquered red paper inside, with the category listed on front and back. The envelope will be sealed with a shiny red sticker adorned with two strips of red ribbon.

Friedland says he had long been frustrated with the look of Oscar's envelope. It was "more functional than iconic," he says, explaining that the envelope was first introduced to the Oscar ceremony after a winner's name had leaked out early.

The Academy Awards will be handed out on Feb. 27.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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