the gifts(STORY)
Sunday, February 29, 2004, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
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Oscar nominees bag extravagant goodies
By Young Chang
Seattle Times staff reporter
Here's what you get for not winning one of the six major Academy Awards: Swarovski crystal flip-flops, complimentary Lasik eye surgery, penthouse accommodations at Caesars Palace, spa treatments, jewels, anti-aging creams, airline tickets, cashmere and an eye-popping list of other presents that fill a $45,000 consolation basket for nonwinning nominees.
Makes you wonder, then, what baubles and luxuries are included in the gift bags of Academy Awards presenters and winners.
It's a subject mired in mystery, one that has media groping for scraps of information and tight-lipped Oscar officials embargoing press releases about the covert gifting affair.
What we do know: The winners' and presenters' bags, reportedly worth $110,000, include a $10,000 gift certificate to any Exclusive Resorts location, a Revlon Red Carpet Bag stuffed with beautifying tools tagged at $2,500, products from the new Los Angeles-based unisex skin-care line GINGI, an HDTV package from VOOM and Samsung, black pearl jewelry and $12,000 worth of lingerie, fragrances and accessories from Victoria's Secret.
The priciest and most glamorous gift bag among all award-show gift bags, the Oscar bags also reflect the style of the awards ceremony. The Grammy Awards are fun, gift-bag coordinators say. The Billboard Awards are playful. But the Oscars?
"I think it also has a lot of pressure attached to it," said Karen Wood, president of the Los Angeles-based Backstage Creations, which produces celebrity gift bags for shows, including last week's Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Billboard Awards and country music's Flameworthy Awards. "It's the ultimate runway for celebrities. They're definitely under the microscope for that one. And it's not as much fun (for them) from the standpoint that there's a lot more at stake."
Which might explain why Academy Awards folks insist on staying officially mum about the goody bag. According to industry gift-basket coordinators, Oscar organizers don't want to detract from the show's serious focus on achievement in film.
Sure, the Grammys are about talent, too, but it's also the kind of affair where songstress Alicia Keys can pair capri pants with a Roberto Cavalli dress — and where the presenter/performer gift baskets contain Nintendo games, limited-edition Barbie dolls, blenders and other expensive but more light-hearted goodies.
But for all its glamour, the "Everyone Wins at the Oscars!" Nominee Gift Basket includes "things that people can literally put into their medicine chests," said Lash Fary, co-founder and president of Distinctive Assets, whose company partnered with Caesars Palace to coordinate the $45,000 bag for nominees in the best actor/actress, best supporting actor/actress, best director and best picture Oscar categories. "Really practical things." It includes Crest whitening strips and toothpaste and a micro hair trimmer.
Wood said firms like hers have to consider not just the celebrities attending the show, but the people watching.
"Obviously the celebrities will get the gift, but we also know the media will be writing about it, and the people who watch will be interested in what the celebrities received," she said.
At the SAG Awards, which Wood characterizes as "more high-end" than the Grammys and more fun than the Oscars, gifts included luxury trips, toffee, cashmere pashminas and a purse for men.
In the Seattle area, galas and fund-raisers give their patrons small goodies. Of course, it's not always an entire bag or basket of goods, but the party favors aren't skimpy either.
The Seattle Symphony sometimes provides gifts to patrons at the bigger shindigs, including the Opening Night Concert and Gala, held in September. The 2003 gift bag included Cartier perfume, Crane & Co. Inc. stationery, L'Occitane en Provence soaps and lotions, Oliviers & Co. tapenade and a CD from Bose.
The local arts-funding organization PONCHO offers a patron bag and a benefactor bag (the latter slightly more stuffed than the former) at its annual Gala Auction, which will be held May 8. Gifts usually include a quality pen, a corkscrew, wine charms, chocolates from Dilettante, gift certificates, small treats from Tiffany & Co. and quirky goods like one year's handmade kaleidoscope. The bags range in value from $100 to $400, according to PONCHO's Renate Raymond, who works in marketing.
"It's not like the highlight of our auction, so to speak," said Inna Shmelyova, executive assistant at PONCHO. "But people always seem to want to take them home."
