Inside obscene £130,000 Oscars goodie bag which is stuffed with free surgery vouchers and a piece of land in AUSTRALIA
OSCARS bosses are hoping nobody loses the plot tomorrow — as the stars are given a piece of land in their goodie bags.
Guests — on best behaviour after Will Smith’s slap last year — will receive £105,000 of gifts, including a chunk of rural Queensland, Australia.
But the idea has not gone down well with indigenous groups, prompting threats of legal action.
This year, nominees including Austin Butler, Cate Blanchett, Paul Mescal and Andrea Riseborough will sit through three hours of awards in LA — as bosses revert to form and include every category in the live televised show.
The academy decided to take the 95th ceremony back to basics after a turbulent 12 months — and will even include a “crisis team”.
The 2022 event was overshadowed by Smith slapping host Chris Rock on stage over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith — and it will be mentioned tomorrow.
Oscars executive producer Molly McNearney promised: “It’s certainly something we can and will address in a comedic fashion.”
Smith won Best Actor but has since been banned so will not, as is the tradition, hand over the Best Actress gong.
Categories including Original Score and Film Editing will be reintroduced to the live broadcast after being cut last year to save time.
Rihanna will sing her Best Song-nominated tune Lift Me Up, from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and rocker Lenny Kravitz will perform during the In Memoriam segment.
Bosses are taking no risks on security after being heavily criticised last year for failing to remove Smith on the spot.
Academy president Janet Yang has told nominees including Ana de Armas that they will act “swiftly, compassionately and decisively”.
CEO Bill Kramer said: “We have a whole crisis team, something we’ve never had before.
“We’ve run many scenarios. So it is our hope we will be prepared for anything.”
US comic Jimmy Kimmel is presenting this year after stints in 2017 and 2018.
He said: “Being invited to host the Oscars for a third time is either a great honour or a trap.
“Either way, I am grateful to the academy for asking me so quickly after everyone good said no.”
Following the bash at the Dolby Theatre, guests will head to the after-parties.
In their goodie bags will be two tickets, worth £66,000, to the famous Vanity Fair bash.
At the Governors Ball, chef Wolfgang Puck will serve Wagyu beef sliders, spicy tuna tartare and cod bouillabaisse.
There will also be the much-loved chicken pot pie, with Wolfgang admitting guests would revolt if it was not available.
Meanwhile, British chef Elliott Grover revealed he would be dishing up calorie-laden, battered fish and chips followed by sherry trifle and custard.
He said: “I’m pretty sure there’ll be a lot of unhappy personal trainers the next day.”
Luckily for any weight-conscious stars, the £34,000 of cosmetic treatments in their goodie bags include liposuction and a facelift.
They also get a £7,000-plus, three-night stay for eight people in a cliff-top light-house at Ischia, Italy, and a £33,000 visit to a ten-acre luxury estate in Ottawa, Canada.
Ownership of a one square metre piece of land in Queensland will also be theirs — although that has sparked controversy.
It is a gift from Aussie Mate Conservation but one indigenous group referenced in their handbook say they have “no connection whatsoever” with it and will seek legal advice.
Last year, stars got a plot of land in Scotland plus more than £80,000 of goodies.
Sun Film Critic's verdict on the Class of 2023
By Dulcie Pearce
IT’S an eclectic mix this year, from death-defying jet stunts in Top Gun: Maverick to the complexities of male friendship in 1920s Ireland, in The Banshees of Inisherin.
But who are the worthy winners — and who will the academy choose?
Here’s where I expect the awards to go at Sunday night’s ceremony in Los Angeles…
BEST PICTURE
SHOULD WIN: Top Gun: Maverick. There wasn’t a single film I saw last year that beat the thrills, joy, adrenaline and heart of this spectacle.
It got bums back on cinema seats post-pandemic and should be rewarded for that alone.
WILL WIN: Everything Everywhere All at Once. This story of first and second generation immigrant family tensions amid multiverse madness is perfect for the academy’s image.
DIRECTOR
SHOULD WIN: Steven Spielberg should be getting a standing ovation for his beautiful love letter to cinema, The Fabelmans.
WILL WIN: Martin McDonagh might just get it this year for the amusing and sorrowful The Banshees of Inisherin.
LEAD ACTOR
SHOULD WIN: Brendan Fraser. His beautiful portrayal of a morbidly obese man with a death wish in The Whale had me crying so hard I could barely breathe. Simply heartbreaking.
WILL WIN: Austin Butler was certainly the best thing about the Elvis movie — and his note-perfect performance will get him the gong.
LEAD ACTRESS
SHOULD WIN: Cate Blanchett’s performance in the painfully pretentious Tar was a masterclass in acting. For me, she made it just about bearable to watch.
WILL WIN: Cate Blanchett.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
SHOULD WIN: Barry Keoghan is both hilarious and heartbreaking as the village simpleton in The Banshees of Inisherin.
WILL WIN: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) has voter appeal for the academy and his “I’m just grateful to be invited” vibe will be met with plenty of Oscars love.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
SHOULD WIN: Kerry Condon shone among some heavyweight acting in The Banshees of Inisherin as the firm, purse-lipped sister Siobhan.
WILL WIN: Jamie Lee Curtis for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
ANIMATED FILM
SHOULD WIN: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is pure poetry on the big screen.
I never thought a one-eyed shell could make me feel such things.
WILL WIN: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio will take the gong, along with the Golden Globe and Bafta before it.