The Army, with a hand from Hollywood, has received a long-lost Oscar back into its ranks.

The little statue took a long and largely unknown path before being passed from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis to an Army general during a Wednesday night ceremony and screening.

In 1942, a few weeks after Pearl Harbor, filmmaker Frank Capra joined the Army. Maj. Capra, who had directed such films as "It Happened One Night," "Lost Horizon" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," was told to create the documentary "Prelude to War." In his 1971 autobiography, "The Name Above the Title," Capra wrote of a screening at the White House. Amid the applause at the end, FDR exclaimed: "Every man, woman and child in the world should see this film!"

The Academy staged a screening of "Prelude to War" on Wednesday night at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood.

Ganis, the emcee for the screening, explained that in 1942, "Prelude to War" won an Oscar for Best Documentary by the U.S. Army Special Services, but the prize was a plaque. The awards were made of plaster during the war because of the metal shortage.

After the war the Army received an actual statue and it was stored in the Army Pictorial Center. When the center closed in 1970, the Oscar disappeared.

Earlier this year, Christie's auction house advertised an Oscar for sale. It was the missing "Prelude to War" award.

The Army was able to claim its prize Wednesday, when Ganis presented a polished 8-pound Oscar to Brig. Gen. Jeffrey E. Phillips, deputy chief of public affairs for the Army.

(Associated Press)

Women in Film and Media's Opal Awards, honoring women in those industries, will hold its second annual awards ceremony at 8 p.m. tomorrow, following VIP and patron receptions.

The Opal ceremony, held in One Oxford Centre, will recognize the contributions of Margaret Loesch, executive producer of "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour," a direct-to-DVD release that was filmed in Pittsburgh. Other honorees include director/producers Anita Harnish and Melissa Martin and casting director Donna Belajac. Yvonne Zanos of KDKA-TV is this year's winner of the Patti Burns Award for Excellence in Television. At the first Opals last year, newscaster Burns was honored posthumously.

Tickets: www.wifmpit.com.

Michael Moore will release his new film online and free.

"Slacker Uprising" follows Moore's 62-city tour during the 2004 election to rally young voters. It will be available for three weeks as a free download to North American residents, beginning Sept. 23, the first major film to be released in such a way. Experimentation in distribution has been more common in the music industry.

(AP)