Oscar nominees who don't end up with a coveted gold statuette
at the Academy Awards on Sunday won't go home empty handed
after all.
Los Angeles-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets will be
handing out its annual "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee
Gift Bag", valued at more than $45,000, to the talented and
well-dressed "losers," the company said.
Among the items in the gift bags, known as swag bags, are
trips to Australia, Hawaii and Mexico, personal training
sessions, condoms, a bottle of tequila, hand-illustrated
tennis shoes, appointments for injectable fillers and
'portion-controlled' dinnerware for those watching their
figure, Distinctive Assets said in a statement.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands
out the Oscars, stopped its practice of giving gift baskets
to presenters and performers in 2007 after the practice came
under closer scrutiny from U.S. tax authorities.
Celebrities who receive gifts and free trips at awards shows
are expected to declare them to the Inland Revenue Service as
income and pay the appropriate taxes.
The Distinctive Assets gift bag is not endorsed by the
Academy but it has been creating consolation goodie bags for
11 years now. The bags are delivered to the losing nominees
to their homes directly or through their agents or
publicists.
This year's "Not Everyone Wins...." swag bag also includes an
under-the-counter water filtration system, acupuncture and
aromatherapy sessions, a one-week stay at a fitness and
weight-loss retreat, and a one-year membership to London's
Heathrow Airport's private VIP service.
Nominees' children also benefit: they get to enroll in
professional all-kid circus classes.
The Academy Awards, the highest honors in the movie business,
will be handed out a ceremony on Sunday in Hollywood.
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