Academy sues director J. Wright's family for auctioning Oscar statuette

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is suing the family of American director Joseph Wright after they auctioned off the Oscar he won for the 1942 film My Gal Sal.

Oscar statuette

The defendants are director Wright's estate, Briarbrook auction house and the new owners of the golden statue.

Director Wright died in 1985 and in June this year, his heirs sold the golden statuette for $79,200 to an anonymous buyer through Briarbrook auction house.

Since 1950, the Academy has officially required award winners to sign an agreement to only resell the golden statuette if the organizer agrees, and the Academy will be the first unit to have the right to buy back the golden statuette for the symbolic price of 1 USD.

The Academy is seeking more than $79,200 in damages and fines in the lawsuit, but it was argued in court that the right to first purchase of the statuette could also be granted to the heirs of the Oscar winner.

Oscar statuettes are rarely sold, and when they are, the Academy vigorously pursues those responsible to preserve the integrity of the award. But the Academy does not always prevent Oscar statuettes from being sold.

In 2012, a collection of 15 golden statuettes, including Oscars for the films Wuthering Heights (1939) and Citizen Kane (1941), was sold for more than $3 million at an auction in Los Angeles.

Director Wright won two Oscars for art direction for My Gal Sal and for This Above All, also produced in 1942. During his career, he made 86 films, from 1923 to 1969, and received more than 10 Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction.

According to TT&VH