For actors, winning an Oscar Award is an achievement like no other, but there is something that winners have to agree to that is non-negotiable.
The likes of Keiran Culkin and Mikey Madison bagged gongs as last night’s Oscars, with Anora director Sean Baker becoming the first person ever to win four Oscars in one night: for Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture.
Of course, at the ceremony, nominees are called out (usually), the winner is then announced, and then they come up on to the stage where they are given an award and make a speech thanking the Academy and their families.
While it’s a routine that seems to have been perfected across the time the ceremony has been running, there is one rule surrounding the trophy, and also what winners can do with it once they take it off-stage.
If you didn’t know, there is a ‘regulations’ section on the Academy Awards website that explains that Oscar winners are banned from attempting to sell their trophies unless they meet a certain requirement.
I know what you’re thinking – the Oscars statues are among the most coveted in the world, why would anyone try to sell one?
Well, it’s unlikely, but it is possible that particularly successful stars might start running out of space to put their awards and decide to swap one for cash, or perhaps attempt to sell off the statue for a good cause.
Whatever the reason for selling an Oscar may be, The Academy explains: “Award winners shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1.00.”
That’s right – the statue might be plated in gold, but winners are tied to offering it to the Academy for just $1 if they choose to sell it.
The website adds: “This provision shall apply also to the heirs and assigns of Academy Award winners who may acquire a statuette by gift or bequest.”
The rule has been in place since 1951, and it’s even sparked lawsuits against some who failed to comply.
In 2014, Joseph Tutalo auctioned off an Oscar that his uncle, Joseph Wright, had won in 1943. It successfully sold for $79,200, but The Academy then sued Tutalo and the auction house for breach of contract.
A California judge later ruled in favor of the Academy, forcing the person who’d won the auction to return the statue.
However, it seems there are times when the rules have been bent, with money exchanging hands in 1999 when Michael Jackson forked out $1.5m for the Best Picture Oscar awarded to producer David Selznick in 1939. Selznick died in 1965.
Hopefully, none of last night’s winners will be thinking about selling the Oscars just yet, but if they are, they better let The Academy know first!
