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.
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
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