And the Oscars go to 3 secret bidders

The largest collection of Oscar statuettes ever offered for public sale has been auctioned off for more than $3 million, a Brentwood auctioneer said Wednesday.


The 15 golden figures were sold to three individuals in a sale conducted online, said auctioneer Nate D. Sanders. The auctioneer would not disclose the identities of the bidders.


Thirteen of the statues were purchased by just one buyer.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-statues-sold-20120301,0,1575137.story

Oscars Auction Realize $3,060,089 Including Buyer's Premium

Oscars Auction Realize $3,060,089 Including Buyer's Premium

A record 15 Academy Award statuettes were sold to the highest bidders during an online and telephone sale conducted Tues. February 28th by Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

Click here to see final realized price http://www.hollywoodgoldenguy.com/Oscar_Auction_Prices.html

My Oscar Picks 2012

Oscar Picks 2012

http://www.hollywoodgoldenguy.com/My_Oscar_Picks.html

Nate D. Sanders to auction the largest collection of Oscars to ever go under the hammer

Nate D. Sanders to auction the largest collection of Oscars to ever go under the hammer

hile nominees for this year’s 84th Academy Awards are preparing their acceptance speeches, Nate D. Sanders is offering the most extraordinary collection of Oscars ever to hit the auction block with final bidding happening on February 28. 


Highlights of the exquisite collection estimated to sell for more than $1 million include Herman Mankiewicz’s 1941 Best Screenplay Academy Award for Citizen Kane, the 1933 Best Picture Oscar awarded to Cavalcade, groundbreaking cinematographer Gregg Toland‘s 1939 Oscar for Black & White Cinematography in Wuthering Heights, Charles Coburn’s 1943 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The More the Merrier- the first year that Best Supporting Actors were awarded statutes - and the first Oscar awarded for Special Effects to Farciot Edouart in 1938. 


”This is the most significant collection of Oscars to ever be auctioned. It contains Academy Awards from epic films such as Citizen Kane and The Best Years of Our Lives”, auction house owner Nate D. Sanders said. “Furthermore, Cavalcade is the earliest Best Picture Oscar to ever be offered in an auction.” 


http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=53779

10 Contenders Remain in VFX Oscar® Race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 84th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

• "Captain America: The First Avenger"
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
• "Hugo"
• "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol"
• "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"
• "Real Steel"
• "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
• "The Tree of Life"
• "X-Men: First Class"

All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

Oscars Moving out of Kodak Theater?

The Hollywood Reporter quoted Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak as saying the group would exercise a clause in its 20-year contract with the Kodak's owners, CIM Group, that will allow the non-profit to explore other locations for the show. Representatives for the Academy did not dispute The Hollywood Reporter story, but declined to comment further on the record until after the New Year's holiday.

"Our plan right now is to exercise this [option] and then see what happens, what goes on. We're open," Sherak told THR's Alex Ben Block. "Personally, I love the Kodak. I'll say that until I'm blue in the face. I've been there since the very beginning. But in the next year the Kodak and others will come to us and the [Academy] board will make a decision at some point."

A PR representative for CIM refused to comment. The change wouldn't happen until after the 2013 show.

The Oscars are watched by between 30 and 40 million viewers each year, and the naming right to the Kodak Theatre has been a major source of revenue for CIM, mostly because of the prestige of the Academy Awards.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Eastman Kodak Company agreed to pay $75 million over 20 years for the name, aligning its company identity each year with the biggest motion picture event in Hollywood. In 2005, Front Row Marketing estimated the value of Kodak's exposure during the telecast alone — not to mention all the award season and post-show media reports — to be about $6.98 million.

The Academy's exploration of other venues doesn't mean the Kodak Theatre is definitely out, but it gives the Academy leverage to renegotiate its tenancy, and maybe find something that better suits its needs. Since the Oscars settled into the Kodak, other venues have opened in the Los Angeles area that could work for the ABC telecast, including downtown's Nokia Theatre. The Nokia previously lured the American Idol finale away from the Kodak, and has 7,100 seats — more than double the Kodak's 3,332 capacity.

That would solve a perennial complaint about the Kodak — its shortage of tickets on Oscar night.

Gilbert Cates, veteran Oscar producer, dead at 77

Gilbert Cates, the producer and director who oversaw a record 14 Academy Awards ceremonies, has died. He was 77.

Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse, which Cates founded, said he died Monday. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Cates was comfortable at the helm of the Oscars, calling it "an absolutely great job." He produced more Academy Awards telecasts than anyone else and brought in comedians such as Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart and Steve Martin to host the show.

On Tuesday, Martin tweeted his condolences: "So sorry to hear Gil Cates has died. He helmed two Oscar shows I hosted. He was delightful, wise, canny and unperturbed. A great fellow."