A change for OSCAR!

No one knows yet who'll win the two dozen Academy Awards that'll be handed out on March 7, so ... R.S. Owens, the company that manufactures the trophies is hedging its bets and engraving 197 nameplates, one for each potential prizewinner.

That means, for the first time ever, newly-minted Academy Award winners will get their trophies personalized on Oscar night, instead of taking home blank-based statuettes that they have to bring back to the Academy for engraving in the days after the ceremony.

According to a press release from the Academy, winners will still pick up blank Oscars at the podium, but if they bring their prizes to the Governors Ball (the Academy's official post-Oscar bash, held next door to the Kodak Theatre), they'll be able to have their pre-made nameplates attached by Academy technicians during the party.

Owens is also engraving the nearly 200 nominees' nameplates, complete with the potential winner's name, the award category, the film title, and the year. As for the 175 or so nameplates that go unused, the Academy statement says they'll be "recycled." or maybe just find their way to eBay?? (moviefone.com)