QUICK TAKES - Feb. 19, 2009
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences won’t say who will accept Heath Ledger’s Oscar if he is named best supporting actor for “The Dark Knight” on Sunday, but it has made public who will own it: his daughter, 3-year-old Matilda Rose Ledger.
“In the event that Heath Ledger should be selected as the supporting actor recipient, the statuette will be held in trust for his daughter by her mother, Michelle Williams, until Matilda reaches the age of 18,” says Bruce Davis, executive director of the academy. “At that point, she may execute what we call an heir’s agreement and keep the statuette forever -- or, if she chooses not to do that, it will return to us.”
The agreement is similar to the contract required of all nominees that says the recipient will not resell his or her Oscar without first offering it back to the academy for $1. The agreement is the academy’s way of limiting what might otherwise be a lively secondary market in Oscars.
