What's inside the $126k Oscars gift bags?
For many actors, being awarded an Oscar is the greatest gift of their career.
However, if an actor misses out in their category, it doesn't mean they'll walk away with nothing.
The Oscars' gift bags have long been jam-packed with a selection of luxury goods, bringing the total value of the goodies well into the six-figure mark.
This year is no exception, with the Los Angeles-based marketing company Distinctive Assets once again sending out its infamous "Everybody Wins" swag bags to the top nominees.
The bags are worth an impressive $126,000 this year, with 26 nominees in acting and directing categories going home with the goodies.
The celebrities will be offered thousands of dollars worth of luxury goods, and even more in vouchers for things like vacations and cosmetic procedures.
Among the contents is a luxury getaway to Canada, which is said to be valued at $40,000, vouchers for cosmetic procedures like liposuction and micro-needling, luxury skincare and gourmet foods, and and "the first-ever chocolate box with a personalised video embedded inside."
Also in the goodie bag is one unusual gift that has caused outrage with Indigenous Australian communities: a plot of land in regional areas of Australia.
Pieces of Australia is one of a number of brands to pay $4,000 to secure a spot in the Oscars gift bag, offering a small parcel of land in outback Australia as part of its “Conservation Gift Packs”.
The land parcels all come with a “certificate of land licence”, but the terms and conditions go on to state that “you have purchased a symbolic souvenir … of the land” and people who own a “pack” may not “take possession of the parcel; use the parcel; enter upon the parcel and/or the land without the licensor’s express written consent”.
The digital “member’s handbook” which comes with the pack referenced the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) without the company's permission, causing outrage with the traditional owners of the land.
In a statement, ICIN said it “has not granted permission for any of our information, publications or photos to be reproduced to support the Oscars ‘Goodie Bag’ or ‘Pieces of Australia’.”
“The Indigenous Carbon Industry Network is a 100% Indigenous-owned charitable company owned by 23 Indigenous organisations across Australia,” it said.
“ICIN is seeking legal advice regarding this matter and will be able to provide further statement once we have sought appropriate advice.”
The Pieces of Australia founder, Niels Chaneliere, said the intention of his organisation was to provide “land licence agreements (where there is no land title transfer at any point) as novel/symbolic gifts for people around the world to engage and participate positively in conservation efforts”.
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