The entertainment industry and film fans turned their attention to the 2017 Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars. These awards are given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize achievement and excellence in the American film industry. Assessed by the Academy’s voting membership, the category winners will take home a statuette, known by the nickname of “Oscar.” Not every Oscar nominee will go home with a gold statuette, but the 25 nominees will receive a swag bag valued at six figures. This year’s theme is “Everyone Wins,” and the gift assortment ranges from personalized crayons to a stay on a luxurious villa on Kauai’s South Shore.
According to a press release, Distinctive Assets, which is an entertainment marketing company, will be giving the bags to Emma Stone, Nicole Kidman, Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, and Natalie Portman, to name a few. These gift bags are meant for those celebrities who may be capable of purchasing anything money can buy but still enjoy the simple act of a receiving a gift. The founder of Distinctive Asset, Lash Fary, had the idea of these nominee bags about 15 years ago. He was doing similar bags for the Grammy’s, and thought they should do something for the Academy Award contestants who walk away from a ceremony empty handed after losing the category.
The gift bags contain multiple vacations, as well as clothing, accessories, gourmet food, and jewelry. The nominated celebrities will get the chance to stay in the Lost Coast Ranch in Northern California. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this ranch houses 18 bedrooms and the invitation is extended to 10 additional guests. Valued at $40,000, this item is the most expensive in the bag. The next vacation is Hawaii’s Koloa Landing Resort, where the nominees can stay for five nights and six days. The average price of a suite at the Resort in $1,300 per night. In addition, nominees will also receive a week of spiritual renewal and destressing at the Golden Door, which was deemed the number one destination spa by Travel and Leisure. The classic week stay at this spa would cost about $9,000, which includes food, lodging, and different classes on the six hundred acre facility. In addition to these vacations, the nominees will receive outlandish items such as a vaporizer, a pelvic/vaginal exercise tracker, skin serum, one year of car rentals, and a personal CPR kit.
Fary says that stars love the gifts. His company receives hundreds of calls from celebrities’ assistants and agents making sure that Distinctive Asset has the correct addresses to deliver these bags. Win or lose, many of the big-name nominees were gifted fabulous, quirky, and indulgent items, making for a memorable Academy Awards experience.
