my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Citizen Kane Oscar worth just a $1?

Author Topic: Citizen Kane Oscar worth just a $1? Mitchell Cope Master Film Handler Posts: 256 From: Overland Park, KS, United States Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-23-2003 11:58 AM                     There's a report in today's USA Today that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bought back Orson Welles' 1942 screenwriting Oscar for Citizen Kane for $1. If it had gone to auction on Friday at Christie's, it was estimated to have been worth $300,000 to $400,000. Now, don't get me wrong. I can understand why the Academy doesn't want these statues starting to show up on eBay, but it was worth just a $1? Did they not have any mercy on Beatrice Welles, the filmmaker's daughter. The Academy (as well as the MPAA) are so cheap. Give us, and the Welles family, a break. You pirates!  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-23-2003 12:36 PM                     Since 1950, all Oscar recipients have had to sign an agreement giving the academy the first right of purchase for the nominal fee of $1, for any Oscar offered for sale by an owner. The academy evoked the agreement in the Christie's sale even though the Welles Oscar was won 8 years before the agreement came into force. They should have gone ahead with the sale on Friday. And have Spielberg buy the Oscar like he did before with other Oscars that were up on the auction block. And then give the Oscar back to the academy.  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Cope Master Film Handler Posts: 256 From: Overland Park, KS, United States Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-23-2003 12:55 PM                     Now how can these pirates get away with this? I applaud Spielberg in his efforts to save the sanctity of the Oscar, but what gives with the Academy? Did they only have a buck forty-two in their budget this year for buying back Oscars?  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-23-2003 03:31 PM                     Mitchell, the point is, all Oscar statues are always the property of the Academy at all times, even when they are awarded to you. The Oscar is their property that they award to you, and the $1.00 they pay to get it back is just a token amount to have their property returned to them if the winner no longer wants it. Each Oscar statue has a sticker on the bottom spelling this out.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-23-2003 04:47 PM                     I don't get it. What are people going to do? Make counterfeit Oscars? Yeah! "And, the Oscar goes to... ME!" Umm... Everybody that ever won an Academy Award is on record. How can they give people awards who never won them? Sounds like a bunch of crap to me. Even multiple/counterfeit statues for people who actually won make no sense. The actor or their heirs KNOW (or should know) where the real one is. Any counterfeits would be worthless. (Not to say that, in real life, they are worth more than the cost of their materials and workmanship.)  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-23-2003 05:14 PM                     The idea is not to make Counterfeit Oscars. But to collect a piece of Hollywood history. There are collectors out there that want pieces of important films. Just like collecting films, the collector is not making copies of the films. Its for the collection. That's why the Academy is very protective of the Oscars they award and the image of Oscar. They do not want to have these awards on the collector market. Mitchell you're right the Academy is out of line on this one. Because she could do anything she wants with at award, because its not covered under that agreement. I think the buy back budget was $1.50 for this year. Thanks John for the rest of the story on the replacement and the agreement. [ 07-23-2003, 07:38 PM: Message edited by: Bill Gabel ]  |  IP: Logged John Scott Master Film Handler Posts: 252 From: Oakdale, MN, USA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 07-23-2003 07:33 PM                     Aparently the reason why the agreement is in force even though Welles won 8 years before the policy went into effect was due to the fact that at some point the original statue was lost and the academy provided a replacement and required the agreement at that time. The original was found and Welles and his estate were allowed to keep both under the condition that the policy was in effect for both statues. That's why they can't sell it.  |  IP: Logged Nicholas Roznovsky Expert Film Handler Posts: 156 From: College Station, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-23-2003 09:24 PM                        quote: I don't get it. What are people going to do? Make counterfeit Oscars? Oh no, now I'm going to have sit through stupid trailers with statue makers complaining about Oscar piracy costing them their jobs.  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Cope Master Film Handler Posts: 256 From: Overland Park, KS, United States Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-29-2003 07:38 AM                     Well this is a bad year for the Academy (or Steven Spielberg), whichever way you want to look at it. Katharine Hepburn left her 4 Oscars to charity. Will the Academy buy them back at $1 each, or will Steven have to figure out how much they're worth for charity?  |  IP: Logged John Walsh Film God Posts: 2490 From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way Registered: Oct 1999 posted 07-29-2003 09:43 AM                     Personally, I think the idea is a good one. It degrades the honor of a prestigious award to have it displayed in car dealerships or dentist offices. Any "real" award bestowed on a person by his peers for exceptional services should be treated with respect, even by the recipent. This reminds me a little of the situation where returning WW2 vets were selling their Purple Heart and other military awards for a few dollars. (There apparently no work avaiable for them upon returning to the US.) The few dollars gained can't be worth it. Not that I blame any vet who did this, but sometimes it's better to simply remove temptations then to deal with them.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.