Awards season is about to come to a head with the most glamorous, most covetable, most prestigious event of them all…. the Oscars. Find out who will be performing and who will be presenting, discover the reasons behind the rebrand and check out what’s inside the $45,000 Oscars nominee gift bag.
By Chloe Schneider
For many years now, the Academy Awards have been commonly dubbed ‘The Oscars’ in honour of the golden statuettes that winners keep on their mantlepiece.
This year, the 85th for the event, it seems the academy has taken note and this commonality is about to become official. It all began around three weeks ago when Neil Meron, the show’s co-producer, told TheWrap, “We’re rebranding it. We’re not calling it ‘the 85th annual Academy Awards’, which keeps it mired somewhat in a musty way. It’s called ‘the Oscars’.”
Since then, references to the Academy Awards and the fact that it’s the 85th show have been quietly disappearing from the official academy materials including the official poster image of host Seth MacFarlane.
There is yet to be an official announcement but we suspect that in a few years to come, the term ‘Academy Awards’ will be all but forgotten.
Rescu. OSCARS PREDICTIONS 2013
The red carpet and the winner announcements are at the forefront of everyone’s minds in the lead up to the event but what really gives the show it’s razzle-dazzle is the performers and presenters.
This year, the likes of Barbra Streisand, Christopher Plummer, Meryl Streep, Mark Wahlberg, Kristen Stewart, Channing Tatum, Charlize Theron, Daniel Radcliffe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Aniston and so many more mega-watt stars will be on hand to present.
Les Misérables stars Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway will all be performing on the night for the musical-themed event. Nominees Adele and Norah Jones will be performing their nominated tracks, ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Everybody Needs a Best Friend’, for audiences.
We can’t wait to see the show unfold!
ACADEMY AWARDS FASHION NOSTALGIA
Don’t for a second think that the nominees who miss out on an award will be going home empty handed! Each and every nominated actor will be walking away with a the gift bag to end all gift bags.
The stars will receive a $12,000 holiday to Australia with a choice between two luxury destinations – Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef or El Questro Homestead in the Outback. If a trip down under doesn’t take their fancy, the nominees can cash in on their $1,800 Heathrow Airport private VIP service, enjoy a $4,100 week-long trip to a fitness and weight-loss retreat, try out $600 worth of acupuncture, aromatherapy and nutrition sessions, or experience a $5,000 ‘Vampire Facelift.’
It’s not all luxury though, the gift bag also contains a lint roller, maple syrup, portion-control dinnerware, Windex, electronic cigarettes, and $20 worth of Naked condoms (seriously).
The bag comes in at around $45,000 which is undeniably enormous but notably $20,000 down on last year’s effort.
Stay tuned for the after party goss to find out who made good use of those condoms!
