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    Academy to reclaim auctioned Oscar for $10 after legal fight

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments891 Views
    In this March 2, 2014 file photo, an Oscar statue appears at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

    By Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    An agreement approved by a judge will allow the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to pay $10 to reclaim a 1940s-era Oscar statuette that was auctioned last year without its permission.

    The amount is a fraction of the $79,200 paid by a Los Angeles-based auction house for Joseph Wright's Academy Award for color art direction of the 1942 film "My Gal Sal."

    Superior Court Judge Gail Ruderman Feuer approved an agreement between the academy and auction house Nate D. Sanders on Tuesday after more than year of litigation. The academy sued a Rhode Island auction firm that sold the Wright Oscar to Nate D. Sanders in June 2014, arguing its bylaws prevented the sale.

    The academy has had a rule since 1951 that Oscar winners and their heirs cannot sell statuettes without first offering it to the organization for $10. The settlement agreement states Nate D. Sanders, which has previously sold Oscar statuettes, was aware of the requirement.

    Brandon Tesser, an attorney for the auction firm, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

    "The 'Oscar' is perhaps the world's most distinctive and prestigious award for achievement in the arts," the academy's lawyer, Gary E. Gans, wrote in a statement. "This case established that the academy can maintain the dignity and value of such an award by keeping it from becoming a commodity."

    Wright, a two-time Oscar-winner, died in 1985.

    "My Gal Sal," a musical starring Rita Hayworth, was nominated for two Academy Awards.

    Tags:Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesOscars



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

    DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.

    The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.

    The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.

    DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.

    "While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

    The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

    The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.

    DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More

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