Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Citizen Kane Oscar worth just a $1?

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Posted by Mitchell Cope (Member # 32) on 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!

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 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.

Posted by Mitchell Cope (Member # 32) on 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?

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 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.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 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.)

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 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 ]

Posted by John Scott (Member # 520) on 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.

Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 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. [Smile]

Posted by Mitchell Cope (Member # 32) on 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? [Confused]

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 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.