55 NEW OSCAR STATUETTES TO BE `BORN' TODAY

55 NEW OSCAR STATUETTES TO BE `BORN' TODAY

CHICAGO (Wireless Flash) -- The Academy Awards won't be announced until March, but 55 new Oscar statuettes will be "born" later today at the Chicago trophy company that fabricates the awards. Workers at R.S. Owens will cast, polish and buff the statuettes, which are made from britannium alloy and coated in layers of copper, silver and 24-karat gold. The little golden guys will be transferred to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters in Beverly Hills, where they'll be kept under lock and key until the "big day" on March 26.