And The Oscar Goes To...Matilda Rose Ledger, But Who Will Accept The Award If Heath Wins? - Page 2
In other words, the Oscar statuette can spend the next 15 years with Matilda, but her mother, who has signed the academy's agreement, will be the legal custodian. When Matilda is old enough, she can claim ownership by signing the agreement. If she does so, she'll become the official owner and will be legally bound not to sell her Oscar; if she opts not to sign, the statuette will revert to the academy without any payment.
As for who would accept the award, that — like many other aspects of the ceremony — is a matter that show producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon are keeping under wraps. Davis will only say that tradition calls for a posthumous Oscar to be accepted either by a close relative or "an artist who was close to the nominee, and who can speak credibly for him or her."
There's little doubt Matilda, under the watchful eye of her protective mother, will sign the contract and keep her dad's statue safely secure, IF he wins. And chances are good he will, with experts and the public giving him an 83% chance of picking up the Oscar. Here are the nominees for Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin - Milk, Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder, Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight, Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road, Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
While this Oscar dilemma may be temporarily resolved, we still don't know who will actually accept on behalf of Ledger should he win. I'd put my guesses on Michelle or someone closely affiliated with the film, maybe even Christian Bale (a long shot, especially after his recently revealed F-bomb tirade) or perhaps director Christopher Nolan. At this point, your guess is as good as mine.
Glosslip plans to do some live-blogging this Sunday of the Oscars, stay tuned for more info.
Follow Technorati