Oscar has been hitting the gym.
Two New York companies have given the trophy a makeover for Sunday’s Academy Awards, making him a little taller and accenting his muscles.
Hudson Valley foundry Polich Tallix took over the manufacturing of the statuettes for this year, while Brooklyn-based Epner Technology plated them in East Williamsburg.
The statuette’s updated silhouette is actually a throwback to the original Academy Awards that debuted in 1929.
“With the help of the 21st-century technology, we’re able to honor the Oscar’s proud beginnings,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Officially called the Academy Award of Merit, the Oscar now boasts crisper lines, sharper corners, rippling muscles and, like any good bodybuilder, a strong bronze core. It is also plated in 24-karat Laser Gold, while the old ones used pure gold, which is weaker.
Polich Tallix, based in Rock Tavern, landed the casting contract because the foundry is capable of working with bronze, unlike the Chicago-based firm that had made Oscars for the past 34 years.
“There are some benefits [of bronze] from a strength and durability standpoint,” said Polich Tallix Executive Vice President Adam Demchak, “but I think the academy was mostly looking for the historical concept.”
R.S. Owens & Co. had made the figures since 1982 with a core of britannia, a pewter-like alloy.
Last December, Polich Tallix was presented with two Oscar statues — one from 1929 and a modern trophy — and tasked with combining the best features of each.
“We were able to pull a lot of the features from the original Oscar, [when] the form was more defined,” Demchak said.
“We refined he musculature, the hairline, the jawline.”
The sexy new statues took three months to create.
For all his bulking up, Oscar hasn’t put on any pounds. Although bronze is heavier than britannia, the academy had Polich Tallix use a more hollowed-out base to maintain the statuette’s trim 8¹/₂-pound weight.
The 88th Annual Academy Awards airs live Sunday on ABC.