1 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: Moving boxes. That's all Willy full Gear wanted some cardboard 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: moving boxes. It's March two thousand and sixty. One year 3 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,279 Speaker 1: old Willie, a junk scavenger by trade, decides to look 4 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: inside a dumpster behind the Food for Less grocery store. 5 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: He's in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles. He figures 6 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: it's a good place to find some discarded packaging. He's 7 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,639 Speaker 1: right inside this large orange container full of trash. Are 8 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: nearly a dozen boxes. Willi picks one up. It's obviously heavy. 9 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: He opens it. Inside he sees what looks like a figure, 10 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,239 Speaker 1: maybe a toy made of brass. When he takes a 11 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: closer look, it's something he's only ever seen on television, 12 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: an Academy Award trophy better known as Oscar, the gleaming 13 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: gold plated award handed out to a select few actors 14 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: and filmmakers each year. Willy looks through the rest of 15 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: the packages. It isn't just one Oscar, It's four or 16 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:22,959 Speaker 1: five to a box. As Willy keeps opening boxes, he 17 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: finds more and more of them. In total, over four 18 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: dozen Oscars are in this smelly dumpster off Venice Boulevard. 19 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: What these oscars are doing in the garbage is a 20 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: pretty incredible story, and what happens to Willy full Gear 21 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: after he finds them in the garbage is another wild tale. 22 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: Willy doesn't know it yet, but he's about to make 23 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: Oscar history in a story with enough twists and turns 24 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: worthy of a Hollywood screenplay, and by the end, more 25 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: than a few people will be wishing for a rewrite. 26 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to very special episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm 27 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: your host, Dana Schwartz and this is movie Mystery, the 28 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: two thousand Oscars Heist. 29 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 2: Welcome back to very special episodes. I'm Jason English, She's 30 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,760 Speaker 2: Dana Schwartz. He is Saron Burnett, and this is our 31 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 2: Oscar special. The ceremony is this Sunday, Dana. I know 32 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 2: you've been to the Emmys. Have you ever made it 33 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 2: to the Academy Awards? 34 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 3: No? 35 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: And I might make it this year. My husband is writing, yeah, 36 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: heck yes, yeah. 37 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 3: Oh please take lots of photos. 38 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 2: Is our version of the egot for getting to attend 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 2: the four ceremonies. 40 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, good choice, and spouse, I'm a lucky date. 41 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 4: You know we didn't actually have buns on him in 42 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 4: the back. That was always kind of a joke around 43 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 4: our factory. 44 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: The man discussing Oscar's buttex is Joseph Petrie. Joseph is 45 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: the design director of rs Owens, a trophy manufacturing business 46 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: located just outside Chicago. The company got it start making 47 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: pigeon racing trophies. They apparently did a pretty good job 48 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: with those, because from nineteen eighty two to twenty sixteen, R. 49 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: S Owens was the exclusive producer of the Academy Award statuette. 50 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: Each year, the company made fifty five of the trophies 51 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: to exacting specifications, including just how the figure's rear end 52 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: should look. 53 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 4: Yeah, Oscar has no crack. 54 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: The process was involved. While Oscar might look like solid gold, 55 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: it's not. 56 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 4: The oscars were cast out of a material culprit tanium, 57 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 4: which is a very rare pewter alloy. And what it 58 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 4: does is is it flows at a little bit lower 59 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 4: of a temperature but allows you to get absolute detail, 60 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 4: but you get enough hardness so that you can polish 61 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 4: them really, really well. 62 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: The pewter was covered in multiple layers of copper, one 63 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 1: layer of silver, a layer of nickel, and then a 64 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,679 Speaker 1: top layer of gold. The name plates would come later 65 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: after winners had been announced, and if one oscar made 66 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: it through the assembly process even slightly imperfect, it was 67 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: destined for the torture room. That's where Joseph would make 68 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: sure it never saw the light of day in a 69 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: most violent manner. 70 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 4: So we had a fallout rate, you know, we usually 71 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 4: figured a few percent, and anytime we got to that level, 72 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 4: the protocol was we would immediately take it into the 73 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 4: casting room to band saw on cuttingm in forths. R. 74 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: S Owens was also responsible for refurbishing damaged to oscars. Surprisingly, 75 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: some recipients didn't treat them with the utmost care. 76 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 4: There was a guy who was a pyrotechnics guy on 77 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 4: one of the big blow them up movies who actually 78 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 4: melted his oscar in his driveway, so we had to 79 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:28,080 Speaker 4: replace his. And then one guy was using it for 80 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 4: a hammer to put in screws, so the back of 81 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 4: his head had all kinds of Philips screw marks on it. 82 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 4: But we used to get him in for all sorts 83 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 4: of reasons. 84 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: The oscars were the brainchild of the Academy of Motion 85 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: Picture Arts and Sciences, which first convened in nineteen twenty 86 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: seven as a way of organizing the various factions of 87 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: the movie business. Silent pictures were on their way out, 88 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 1: movies with dialogue, known as talkies were coming in. The 89 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: Academy decided that an awards ceremony was in order to 90 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: publicize their flourishing industry. The best actors, directors, writers and 91 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: films would be recognized, but what to give them. MGM's 92 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: art director Cedric Gibbons conceived of a man with a 93 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 1: blank expression and a crusader's sword standing atop a reel 94 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: of film that had five spokes. Those five were meant 95 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:38,159 Speaker 1: to represent the five branches of the Academy at the time, acting, writing, directing, producing, 96 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: and technicians. The design was realized in three dimensions by 97 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 1: sculptor George Stanley. Oscar was born. The first Academy Awards 98 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: were handed out in nineteen twenty nine. The ceremony has 99 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: been held annually ever since, and aside from the wartime 100 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: oscars were the trophies were crafted in plaster. Due to 101 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: supply shortages, they've largely been the same statue you see today, 102 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:10,559 Speaker 1: polished buttocks and all. 103 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 4: The Oscar itself, as I recall, was thirteen and a 104 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 4: half inches high. I think it was about eight and 105 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 4: a half pounds, and that weight was predictable in that 106 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 4: after we had the base attached and we had the statue, 107 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 4: we would weigh them, and if they were anything above 108 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 4: or below, we had weights in the bottom of the base, 109 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 4: so that each and every one of them weighed the 110 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 4: exact same amount. 111 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: We should also mention the Oscar trophies are technically statuettes, 112 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: not statues. 113 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 4: Well, there are statuette in that they're produced in bulk, 114 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 4: produced in multiples, whereas most of the time statues might 115 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 4: have an original maybe a few replicas, But statuettes are 116 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 4: typically smaller, typically handheld, and they're produced in greater quantities. 117 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: In two thousand r s Owens is doing what it 118 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: always does. It hand crafts fifty five of the statuettes 119 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: and carefully packs each one in styrofoam, slipping them into 120 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: ten or eleven cardboard boxes. All the boxes are then 121 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: shrink wrapped together on a pallet. The entire shipment makes 122 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: for one massive, four hundred and seventy pound behemoth. Given 123 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,520 Speaker 1: the notoriety of the Oscar, you might expect that the 124 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: trophies would be delivered to the Academy's Beverly Hills office 125 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 1: under armed guard. You might get that impression because that's 126 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: exactly what happened. A previous year. The organization made a 127 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: big deal of having the world famous Pinkerton Security and 128 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:54,719 Speaker 1: Detective Agency escort the trophies from Chicago to California, but 129 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: as with many things in Hollywood, it was a lot 130 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: of smoke and mirrors. The whole armed Guard show was 131 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:08,199 Speaker 1: mainly for publicity purposes. What the Academy normally did and 132 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,880 Speaker 1: what it's doing in two thousand is schedule delivery with 133 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: a trucking company called Roadway Express. The service didn't operate 134 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: with armed guards, or armored trucks or anything else. The 135 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: actual material value of those fifty five oscars is about 136 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: eighteen thousand dollars. Pricey, sure, but not exactly a king's ransom, 137 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: so regular freight seems appropriate, the way you might ship 138 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: a load of potato chips or computer equipment. The Oscar 139 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: palette makes its way from Chicago to the Los Angeles 140 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: suburb of Bell, California, in just a few days, as 141 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:58,240 Speaker 1: it usually does. On March eighth, the truck is parked 142 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 1: in a loading dock area, as it usually is, but 143 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: instead of winding up in Beverly Hills. A few days later, 144 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: it seems to just disappear. Roadway Express supervisors don't panic. 145 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,560 Speaker 1: They figure they've simply lost track of the shipment. It happens. 146 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:25,600 Speaker 1: They spend the next four days searching every truck, dock 147 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: and terminal in the entire country, but the oscars fail 148 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: to turn up. And that's when the proverbial alarm goes off. 149 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: The oscars haven't been misplaced. 150 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 4: One of the guys from our shipping department came in 151 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 4: and said, hey, we think our shipment's been hijacked. 152 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: Roadway Express phones Bruce Davis, then the executive director of 153 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,719 Speaker 1: the Academy on March thirteenth. They tell him that the 154 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: oscars intended for the two thousand ceremony, which is just 155 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: two weeks away, have disappeared. This is a rather seismic development. 156 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: It's like realizing that your year's host, Billy Crystal, had 157 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:16,959 Speaker 1: dropped off the face of the earth, or that someone 158 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: had run off with the envelopes containing the names of winners. 159 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:27,119 Speaker 1: You couldn't hand Meryl Streep and io you. Bruce Davis 160 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: springs into action, making two calls. The first is to R. 161 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: S Owens with the Oscar ceremony so close and the 162 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: fate of the statuettes up in the air, the Academy 163 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: places a rush order for thirty five replacement Oscars to 164 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: join the twenty they have on hand that were left 165 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: over from previous years. What would normally take months, R. 166 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: S Owens will now have to do in a matter 167 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: of weeks. 168 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,320 Speaker 4: To make sure we were able to get this done 169 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 4: because we knew all of it was going to be done, 170 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 4: heavy scrutiny, cameras everywhere, press everywhere. So once we got 171 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 4: that ball rolling, which was about I want to say, 172 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 4: within twenty four hours, maybe maybe forty eight, but we 173 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 4: got rolling pretty quickly, you know, it was time to 174 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 4: step up, take it to the next level, you know, 175 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,440 Speaker 4: be a big deal, you know, make sure that the 176 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 4: Oscar Show went off without a hitch. 177 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,319 Speaker 1: But even if R. S Owens can fulfill the order 178 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: in time, the Academy has no desire to have dozens 179 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: of stolen Oscars out in the world. They're fiercely protective 180 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:42,239 Speaker 1: of the trophy. So Davis also calls the Los Angeles 181 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:48,079 Speaker 1: Police Department. The LAPD assigns a detective named Mark Zavalla 182 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: to the case. Not because Zavalla is an expert in 183 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: oscars or black market goods, but because he's part of 184 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: the department's cargo theft unit, when largeities of shipped material 185 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: went missing, he can often find them. Zavala and his 186 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: partner's head for Roadway Express hoping to solicit the help 187 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:18,760 Speaker 1: of employees. This is perhaps overly optimistic. The employees are 188 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: union members, and union members are by nature a pretty 189 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: codified group of people. But another way, teamsters don't snitch 190 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: on one of their own. But Zavala knows it was 191 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:37,600 Speaker 1: likely an inside job for one big reason. Remember R. 192 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: S Owen's shipped the oscars as a single package. It 193 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: weighs nearly five hundred pounds. If you wanted to make 194 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 1: off with it, you were going to need a forklift 195 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,199 Speaker 1: and a truck big enough to accommodate it. So Zavala 196 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,679 Speaker 1: knows that at a minimum, he's looking for two suspects, 197 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:03,439 Speaker 1: a forklift operator and a driver. You'd figure surveillance footage 198 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,559 Speaker 1: would be helpful, might even catch the perpetrators in the act, 199 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: but no such luck. So with a cooperation of Roadway, 200 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: Zavala tries a different tact. The trucking company offers a 201 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: twenty five thousand dollars reward to anyone with information leading 202 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: to the recovery of the oscars. That causes a little 203 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: mumbling among the teamsters, but still no snitches. Roadway quickly 204 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: bumps the reward up to fifty thousand dollars. Zavala soon 205 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 1: gets a message from a man claiming to be an attorney. 206 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: He said he represents individuals who would be willing to 207 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: return the oscars if no questions were asked and no 208 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: arrests were made. Zavala and his colleagues are interested in 209 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: this man, but before blindly giving him the money, they 210 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: decide to follow him around for a bit. In the meantime, 211 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:09,840 Speaker 1: Zavala has a larger question to resolve. As a cargo 212 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: theft specialist, he knows that when you steal a palette 213 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: full of clothes, watches, or electronics, you can resell them. 214 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: You can make money. But what is anyone going to 215 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: do with fifty five stolen oscars? 216 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:30,440 Speaker 5: An oscar is the worst thing to steal if you're 217 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 5: looking for something to steal. Excuse me, I'm hiccupping because 218 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 5: I'm so pregnant. Just give me one second to redeliver that. 219 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: That's Olivia Rutigliano. Olivia is a book and online features 220 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: editor who also has what you'd call a particular set 221 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: of skills. She's a historian of misplaced oscars, lost, stolen, 222 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: and everything in between. 223 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 5: I like to say missing oscars because it's unclear if 224 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 5: some of them were in fact stolen or some of 225 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 5: them were purloined without you know, any criminal intent behind them. 226 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 5: But some of them were literally stolen, and it does 227 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 5: seem like a bit of an under sell not to 228 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 5: say that as well, So stolen in missing oscars is 229 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 5: a good umbrella term for them. 230 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:27,160 Speaker 1: Olivia's fascination with missing oscars goes back to a trivia 231 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: book she had as a twelve year old. 232 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 5: This was the Complete Oscars up to two thousand and 233 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,360 Speaker 5: three by Gail Kin and Jim Piazza. This huge coffee 234 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 5: table book. My mom got it at a costco, and 235 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 5: they would include details about oscars that have reportedly been stolen, 236 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 5: just in the trivia section. And eventually I was like, 237 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 5: there have been a couple of these. There have been 238 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 5: a couple of these instances. 239 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: The subject so intrigued young Olivia that she began doing 240 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: her own research. 241 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 5: I wonder if there's an interest in obtaining stolen oscars, 242 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 5: and my research took off from there. I was like twelve, 243 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 5: and I would go to the New York Public Library. 244 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,159 Speaker 5: I grew up in New York, and so I go 245 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 5: to the New York Public Library and do research on 246 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,040 Speaker 5: the computers and try to find articles about stolen oscars. 247 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: It's easy to see why someone can fall into a 248 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 1: rabbit hole of Oscar mythology. It's a cultural touchstone. We're 249 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:28,440 Speaker 1: a society obsessed with the best, the best football team, 250 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: the best pizza, and even the best in the highly 251 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: subjective field of art. When the Oscars began airing on 252 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 1: television in nineteen fifty three, the general public quickly grew 253 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: consumed with the awards race. 254 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,439 Speaker 5: Suddenly there's a way, through your television you can be 255 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 5: connected to the spectacular world of Hollywood that you are 256 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 5: becoming entranced with, because it's the post war period and 257 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 5: everyone would be depressed otherwise. I very much think that 258 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 5: the broadcasting is what contributed to the Academy becoming a 259 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 5: household name in terms of like moviegoing institutions. 260 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:15,760 Speaker 1: Then there's the nickname itself, Oscar. The trophy is already 261 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,680 Speaker 1: humanoid and the proper noun lends it more of an 262 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: emotional pull. Technically, the award is named the Academy Award 263 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: of Merit, but since the nineteen thirties it's been best 264 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: known by its nickname, and no one, not even Olivia, 265 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: is quite sure why. 266 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:40,399 Speaker 5: But the most salient rumor about the naming of the 267 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,639 Speaker 5: Oscar is that the Academy secretary, I believe Margaret Herrick 268 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 5: nicknamed it Oscar. I just called it Oscar, but I 269 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 5: don't know beyond that. I cannot say anything definitive at 270 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,479 Speaker 5: all regarding that, but I do find it funny if 271 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 5: it was just a pet name for this object that 272 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:02,640 Speaker 5: wound up blowing up and becoming the main moniker. 273 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,960 Speaker 1: Talking to Olivia tends to result in a lot of 274 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:12,719 Speaker 1: interesting revelations, like the fact that the oscars don't technically 275 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 1: belong to their recipient, at least not in the way 276 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,640 Speaker 1: you might think. Since the nineteen fifties, Academy Award winners 277 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: must first agree to the Academy's terms before taking possession 278 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:28,359 Speaker 1: of their statuettes. 279 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 5: When you win your Oscar, you are taken backstage and 280 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:36,040 Speaker 5: you are met with a bunch of contracts and lawyers 281 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 5: and you have to sign a document saying that if 282 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 5: you wish to give away your oscar for any reason 283 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 5: that includes bequeath it when you die, sell it, give 284 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 5: it to a loved one, anything like that, you must 285 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 5: first offer it back to the Academy for a sum 286 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:50,879 Speaker 5: of one dollar. 287 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,719 Speaker 1: There is a bit of a loophole. Someone could, in theory, 288 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: sell an oscar belonging to someone else with their permission 289 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: or that of the estate, or it might have been 290 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: given out so long ago it's now more historical artifact 291 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: than anything. That's how Vivian Lee's oscar for Gone with 292 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,879 Speaker 1: the Wind wound up selling at auction for over a 293 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: half million dollars in nineteen ninety three, even though the 294 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 1: Academy told trade publication Variety they were quote concerned about 295 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: such oscar sales. But stolen oscars present unique problems. One 296 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:38,959 Speaker 1: of the first cases that Olivia worked on originated in 297 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight. That's when a Best Supporting Actress Award 298 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:49,239 Speaker 1: was given to Alice Brady for the film In Old Chicago. 299 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:53,360 Speaker 1: The movie is a highly fictionalized telling of the eighteen 300 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: seventy one Great Chicago Fire. Brady played a woman whose 301 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:03,800 Speaker 1: clumsy cow knocks over a lantern, starting the blaze, but 302 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: Brady had been on a bedrest at home with a 303 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 1: broken ankle and was unable to attend the ceremony. 304 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 5: Apparently, at the ceremony, a mysterious man nobody knew walked 305 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 5: on stage, accepted the award on her behalf, and then 306 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 5: disappeared with the award, and no one had ever seen 307 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 5: him or the statuette since. And then when I say 308 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,439 Speaker 5: statue at it was kind of a plaque statue at 309 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,720 Speaker 5: it wasn't the same as the ones we have now, 310 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 5: and that was so cool and weird. 311 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 1: But the oscar, or rather the plaque hadn't been stolen 312 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: at all. At the Behest of Olivia, the Academy's librarian, 313 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: Libby Verton, revealed she had excavated the truth. 314 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 5: She presented me with several newspaper articles that she had 315 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 5: found that showed what actually happened that night. And apparently 316 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 5: the man was not so mysterious. He was the film's director, 317 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 5: Henry King, and he apparently brought the oscar to Brady 318 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 5: that night, according to a fan magazine. So there's definitely 319 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 5: reason to suspect that the oscar wasn't stolen at all, 320 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 5: and I was really excited to encounter her research and 321 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 5: the fact that she had sort of found this answer. 322 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: Brady's story may have been invented, but plenty of oscars 323 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: have gone a wall. Since the Academy's first ceremony in 324 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty nine, roughly eighty oscars have gone missing, including 325 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: the fifty five from the Roadway Express heist, and they 326 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,880 Speaker 1: often take a circuitous journey before being returned to their 327 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: rightful owners or if they're deceased, their estates, and as 328 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:51,840 Speaker 1: thieves often find out, they're incredibly hard to monetize on 329 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 1: any so called black market. 330 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,679 Speaker 5: I think oscars even more than paintings because you can, 331 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 5: you know, heist movies have taught me that you can 332 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 5: find a weirdo who's obsessed with Vermier who just wants 333 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 5: to look at it. They'll pay you four million dollars 334 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 5: or whatever, or a museum is unaware that the thing 335 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,879 Speaker 5: was stolen and they've acquired like there seems to be 336 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 5: like some wiggle room, especially regarding the history of some 337 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:19,360 Speaker 5: of the art pieces. 338 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:24,479 Speaker 1: You know, Unlike paintings, all oscars have a serial number, 339 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,520 Speaker 1: making them easily traceable, and because the oscar is only 340 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: gold plated and consists mainly of other less valuable materials. 341 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: Melting it down doesn't make a lot of sense, so 342 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 1: why do people steal them? Sometimes the motive is something 343 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: other than money. One of the first oscars ever stolen 344 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 1: belonged to child actress Margaret O'Brien, who is awarded a 345 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: special Oscar dubbed a Juvenile Academy Award for her role 346 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: in the nineteen forty five film Meet Me in Saint Louis. 347 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:07,399 Speaker 1: The musical details the exploits of the Smith family in 348 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: the months leading into the nineteen oh four World's Fair. 349 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: O'Brien plays Tuty, the younger sister of Judy Garland's Esther. 350 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: When she won the award, she was just eight years old. 351 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,360 Speaker 1: A few years later, in nineteen fifty four, O'Brien's family 352 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: housekeeper took the oscar to polish it at home. When 353 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: she failed to come back to work, the O'Brien's fired her. 354 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:39,640 Speaker 1: She didn't return the award, possibly out of spite. For 355 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: the next forty years, the statuette was missing. It wasn't 356 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: until nineteen ninety four that it turned up at a 357 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: flea market in Pasadena, two memorabilia collectors picked it up 358 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:57,399 Speaker 1: for five hundred dollars, then returned it to O'Brien when 359 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,080 Speaker 1: they realized it had been stolen. Then there was the 360 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: one belonging to actress Olympia Ducaccus for her performance in 361 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:10,879 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighty eight romantic comedy Moonstruck. That oscar was 362 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,840 Speaker 1: swiped during a home burglary just months after the ceremony. 363 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: Plucked right off a kitchen table, the thief took nothing 364 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: else except the Oscar. It felt a little personal. Not 365 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: long after, Ducaccus's son received a call that offered to 366 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:32,679 Speaker 1: sell the award back. A meeting was arranged, but the 367 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 1: kidnapper never showed up. And then there was a thief 368 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: who seemingly got cold feet. In two thousand and two, 369 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:45,879 Speaker 1: actress Whoopy Goldberg thought her best supporting actress Oscar for 370 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: nineteen nineties Ghost was looking a little pale. She sent 371 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: it back to the Academy, which intended to forward it 372 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: on to R. S Owens for refurbishing. 373 00:25:57,359 --> 00:25:57,879 Speaker 5: But R. 374 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: S Owens only got an empty box. 375 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,640 Speaker 5: Apparently the Oscar en route to Chicago. No, it never 376 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 5: left California. A security guard found it in a garbage can. 377 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 5: Presumably someone had seen the box, opened it and then 378 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 5: removed the oscar, or was afraid that, you know, they 379 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,240 Speaker 5: would be seen with an oscar and dumped it. The Academy, 380 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 5: as it does, thought that maybe the thief had intended 381 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,919 Speaker 5: to steal the oscar and then realized that it was 382 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:33,679 Speaker 5: serialized and had a name on it and decided to 383 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,439 Speaker 5: forego the plan. So the security guard found it in 384 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 5: the garbage and it was sent back to the academy, 385 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 5: then sent it back to Willvie Goldberg. 386 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 1: But no one had ever attempted anything as audacious as 387 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: the Roadway Express heist. This wasn't one oscar sitting on 388 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:57,240 Speaker 1: a shelf. This was fifty five oscars yet to be awarded, 389 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: a quarter ton of Hollywood iconography that didn't really have 390 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 1: value because they didn't yet belong to anyone. Their worth 391 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: is tied directly to the name inscribed on the plaque, 392 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: and if you try to sell one, even if you 393 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:17,920 Speaker 1: legitimately won it, the Academy is likely to take aggressive action. 394 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: So what exactly could anyone have been thinking? 395 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,200 Speaker 5: Whenever someone thinks they can steal an oscar, it's, you know, 396 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,959 Speaker 5: it's this moment of hope it's discovery. Oh my god, 397 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 5: I hit the jackpot, and then there's a quick like 398 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 5: Google search, and it's like, crap, what am I supposed 399 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 5: to do with this thing? 400 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 1: Actually, for these thieves, the answer involves a lot of 401 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: finger pointing and a dumpster. Two thousand has already been 402 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:58,879 Speaker 1: a peculiar year for the Academy. Months earlier, several thousand 403 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 1: ballots intended for voting members had gone missing in the mail, 404 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: only to turn up in California. Then, a short time later, 405 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:12,960 Speaker 1: movie blogger Harry Knowles of Ain'ted Cool News claimed he 406 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:17,400 Speaker 1: had obtained a list of possible nominees before they were 407 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: officially announced. The list turned out to be quite a 408 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,439 Speaker 1: ways off the mark, but it still sparked talk of 409 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:31,680 Speaker 1: security issues within the Academy. But those were nothing compared 410 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: to the mass disappearance of fifty five Oscar trophies. Once 411 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: Roadway Express bumps the reward up to fifty thousand dollars, 412 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 1: Detective Mark Zavala gets a call. It was another anonymous tipster. 413 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: This person advised Zavala to take a look at a 414 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:59,560 Speaker 1: roadway forklift operator named Anthony Hart. This caller claims he 415 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 1: acts saw heart load the oscar palette onto the truck 416 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: of one Larry Leadent, a driver for the company. Sure enough, 417 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: both Leadent and Heart had been on duty during the 418 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: window of time the palette had disappeared. What's more, other 419 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: anonymous tips phoned in had also mentioned Heart by name. 420 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 1: So Zavala drives the home of Anthony Hart, who refuses 421 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 1: to discuss anything at all. But Zavala does note that 422 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: Hart's brother in law is the same attorney who had 423 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: phoned in to inquire about the fifty thousand dollars reward. 424 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: If Hart wouldn't talk, that leaves Larry, but Zavala might 425 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: run into the same stonewalling. So detectives decide to lean 426 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:55,440 Speaker 1: on Larry by telling him a lie that Heart has 427 00:29:55,680 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: just confessed it works. Larry has a store to tell. 428 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,840 Speaker 1: We'll call it Larry's version. In his telling, Larry was 429 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: minding his own business at the dock when Hart told 430 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: him he had loaded something into the back of his truck. This, 431 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,520 Speaker 1: according to Larry, was not unusual, as the two had 432 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:22,560 Speaker 1: schemed to help themselves to inventory before stuff like clothes 433 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: and shoes. Larry says he wasn't sure what to make 434 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 1: of this information at first, He drove around for a 435 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 1: bit before finally peeking inside one of the boxes, where 436 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: he discovered the fifty five perloined oscars oscars that Hart 437 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:44,480 Speaker 1: had apparently forklifted into his truck. Here's Olivia again. 438 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 5: I think Heart was the one who told Leen, like, 439 00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 5: put something on your truck, and he was like, okay, 440 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 5: and then later realized that they were Oscar statuettes and 441 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 5: freaked out because they were It's not like a you know, 442 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:02,960 Speaker 5: rug or a bunch of cologne. 443 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: Larry felt a surge of panic. Not wanting to transport 444 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: stolen goods, he headed to the house of a friend 445 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,720 Speaker 1: of his named John Harris. He told Harris he was 446 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: going to leave the oscars with him for a short 447 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,479 Speaker 1: period of time until he could figure out what to 448 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: do about them. Again, he drove to a friend's home 449 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: and informed him he had fifty five Academy awards he 450 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: wanted to drop off. Happens every day. Harris agreed, but 451 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,360 Speaker 1: the statuette were only with him for one night before 452 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 1: they were on the move again. 453 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 5: Parently, Harris was like, whoa, these things are hot. This 454 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,720 Speaker 5: is very bad. Do not bring these to my house. Please, 455 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 5: do not involved me in this. 456 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: After that Larry tells police he wanted nothing more to 457 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: do with the heist and dumped the oscars. He was, 458 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: as he says, afraid of losing his job a reasonable concern. 459 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:06,240 Speaker 1: Larry is arrested and charged. Heart is arrested but released 460 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 1: owing to a lack of evidence. Police can't prove he 461 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 1: knowingly loaded the oscar palette into Leadent's truck. It could 462 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: have been an accident, but authorities do wind up charging 463 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 1: Heart months later, after Lea Dent offers additional testimony about 464 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 1: Heart's role, and after police uncover telephone communication between the 465 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:35,120 Speaker 1: two around the time of the heist. Lead Dent pled 466 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 1: no contest to charges of grand theft. He got six 467 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,480 Speaker 1: months in jail and a fine. Harris pled no contest 468 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: to receiving stolen property and one count of accessory to 469 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:52,440 Speaker 1: grand theft after the fact. He got three years probation. 470 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: Heart pled no contest to receiving stolen property and also 471 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 1: got probation. Hart vehemently denied all of Larry's claims that 472 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:06,440 Speaker 1: he was in on it. He said he knew nothing 473 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: about the theft. He said he pled out to avoid 474 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:15,000 Speaker 1: being chewed up by the system. He asserted Larry's confession 475 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:20,440 Speaker 1: had been coerced. Later, Hart sued the LAPD, the Academy, 476 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: and Roadway Express, alleging they had violated his civil rights 477 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 1: and that the LAPD had defamed him by naming him 478 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,720 Speaker 1: as a suspect in a press conference. He lost on 479 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,239 Speaker 1: appeal in two thousand and six. At the time of 480 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,720 Speaker 1: his arrest for the oscars, Larry tried telling police where 481 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 1: the stolen statuettes could be located, but when police arrived 482 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:51,160 Speaker 1: at the places, he indicated nothing was there. This brings 483 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 1: us back to Willie Fulgear. Willie, as you'll recall, is 484 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,920 Speaker 1: the scavenger who was looking for packing boxes in a 485 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,680 Speaker 1: Koreatown day dumpster and got a surprise instead. 486 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,560 Speaker 5: He thought, apparently that what he had found with brass, 487 00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 5: and he had you know, great success selling brat. I mean, 488 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 5: you know, really good brass, you know, is worth a 489 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,359 Speaker 5: pretty penny. So he called his son, though when he 490 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,399 Speaker 5: saw that it was something else, his son did an 491 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:23,000 Speaker 5: Internet search and realized there was a reward out for them. 492 00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:26,319 Speaker 1: Armed with the knowledge he had a lot more than 493 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,880 Speaker 1: packing boxes on his hands, Willy makes two phone calls, 494 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: one to the LAPD and one to a Los Angeles 495 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: news outlet. Within minutes, Willy is posing with the Oscars 496 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:44,520 Speaker 1: near the dumpster. The media is already hailing him as 497 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: a hero. But by now you're probably thinking this doesn't 498 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 1: quite add up. How did the Oscars get into that dumpster? 499 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,080 Speaker 1: Larry claimed he didn't know, Hart claimed not to have 500 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:03,720 Speaker 1: any involved at all. And did Willy really just happen 501 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: across them or did someone tell him where they could 502 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: be found? Please think it's odd too. They question Willie 503 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:17,800 Speaker 1: to see if he had any potential involvement, but Willy 504 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,320 Speaker 1: insists he did not, that he found them in the 505 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:26,240 Speaker 1: dumpster by happenstance. He even passes a polygraph test, which 506 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 1: is inadmissible in court, but a technique that police often 507 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 1: put faith in when it comes to evaluating potential suspects. 508 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 1: Absent any evidence of wrongdoing, and with increasing pressure from 509 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,800 Speaker 1: the public to give Willie the fifty thousand dollars reward, 510 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:47,239 Speaker 1: cops cut him loose and Roadway cut him a check. 511 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: He also gets something priceless. A grateful academy extends an 512 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:57,080 Speaker 1: invitation to the ceremony and a car and driver to 513 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:01,760 Speaker 1: the event held March twenty sixth at the Shrine Auditorium 514 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. 515 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,040 Speaker 5: And he is the hero of the Red Carpet, Like 516 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:11,040 Speaker 5: so many articles say, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger comes up 517 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 5: to him and it's like, you'll the staw. I shouldn't 518 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:15,640 Speaker 5: say that. They're like, I've been watching a lot of 519 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,719 Speaker 5: Arnold Schwarzenegger movie because it's weird how pregnancy gives you 520 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 5: cravings that are sometimes media related. 521 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: That night, American Beauty wins the Oscar for Best Picture, 522 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,720 Speaker 1: beating the likes of The Green Mile and The Sixth Sense. 523 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:32,480 Speaker 1: And despite the presence of luminaries like Tom Cruise and 524 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,800 Speaker 1: Angelina Jolie, it's Willie who is the star. Over forty 525 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 1: six million people watch as he's called out by name 526 00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:44,240 Speaker 1: by host Billy Crystal. Clad in a tuxedo and top hat, 527 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,720 Speaker 1: he waves to the crowd, the hero civilian who made 528 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: the ceremony possible, hadn't he. There's an interesting addendum to that. 529 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:57,240 Speaker 1: Will The media played up the idea that the Oscar 530 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,919 Speaker 1: statuettes were needed for that year's show. Well, they didn't 531 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:02,799 Speaker 1: have the story exactly right. 532 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,040 Speaker 4: As far as certain things about the Oscar. Nobody was 533 00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:09,160 Speaker 4: to ever know that at that point that what we 534 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:12,359 Speaker 4: were making was for essentially next year, so as far 535 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:15,080 Speaker 4: as the whole world knew, except for very few inside 536 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:18,759 Speaker 4: the factory, because even some of the employees had no 537 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,759 Speaker 4: idea that we were producing them, like I said, a 538 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,120 Speaker 4: year behind, so we just nothing was ever left a chance. 539 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:32,480 Speaker 1: The frantic search for the two thousand oscars was actually 540 00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:36,080 Speaker 1: a frantic search for the two thousand and one oscars. 541 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: Rs Owens was, according to Joseph, working a year in advance, 542 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 1: just in case something like this were to ever happen. 543 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: The show was never in any danger of handing out 544 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: IOUs so why the mad rush to make more. It's possible, 545 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: though not confirmed, that a dash to replace leh the 546 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:06,279 Speaker 1: Academy's oscar inventory simply made for some good publicity. It 547 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 1: is show business, after all. As for Willie Fullgear, he 548 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:15,000 Speaker 1: takes some of the reward money and buys a gold Lexus, 549 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:19,000 Speaker 1: possibly in homage to how he got his windfall. He 550 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:22,120 Speaker 1: also plans to use some of the funds to fix 551 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,799 Speaker 1: up a property in his home state of Mississippi, but 552 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,760 Speaker 1: when he returns from a trip there later in two thousand, 553 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:35,239 Speaker 1: he discovers someone has stolen a safe with the remaining 554 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 1: reward money about forty thousand dollars. It was never recovered. 555 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:47,200 Speaker 1: To Olivia, Willy's flirtation with fame and fleeting celebrity isn't 556 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,279 Speaker 1: quite the feel good story it appears to be, and 557 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,800 Speaker 1: not just because he himself was robbed. 558 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,520 Speaker 5: For that night, he's the guest of honor, and then 559 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,800 Speaker 5: it's over the next day, it's over. He is nothing 560 00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:06,400 Speaker 5: to that community because he hasn't accomplished anything of note. 561 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:09,680 Speaker 5: He's just made it possible for the show to go on, 562 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,520 Speaker 5: made it possible for the ceremony to continue, for the 563 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:16,040 Speaker 5: people to receive their awards. He's not part of the production. 564 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:20,799 Speaker 5: He's not going to be making movies, and so he 565 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:24,920 Speaker 5: sort of becomes a footnote in the lore of that 566 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 5: particular ceremony rather than a member of the community. And 567 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:31,400 Speaker 5: a year later his life is horrible. 568 00:39:32,200 --> 00:39:37,240 Speaker 1: There's also that one final twist that authorities wouldn't actually 569 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:42,640 Speaker 1: cover until months after the recovery of the trophies. Willie 570 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,920 Speaker 1: had always maintained he had nothing to do with the 571 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:50,399 Speaker 1: heighst itself, but his family tree told a little bit 572 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,000 Speaker 1: of a different story. 573 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:54,920 Speaker 5: When it turned out that he was the half brother 574 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,719 Speaker 5: of John Willie Harris, the friend that Lennant, the truck driver, 575 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:02,720 Speaker 5: had brought the statuettes. 576 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:06,719 Speaker 1: To John Harris and Willie had actually arrived in California 577 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,840 Speaker 1: together in the nineteen sixties, but both claimed to be 578 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:15,479 Speaker 1: estranged from one another. Harris denied that Willy had any 579 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: involvement in these statuettes beyond finding them by sheer coincidence, 580 00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:24,280 Speaker 1: and Willie maintained he had nothing to do with any 581 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:24,480 Speaker 1: of it. 582 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,120 Speaker 5: The polygraphs they put him through, you know, did not 583 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:31,799 Speaker 5: turn back anything suspicious apparently, you know, the fact that 584 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:34,359 Speaker 5: the two men were half brothers was inconsequential, as they 585 00:40:34,400 --> 00:40:36,280 Speaker 5: had been estranged for some time. 586 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,400 Speaker 1: Willie full Gear was never charged with any crime in 587 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:48,520 Speaker 1: connection to the oscar heist. Was he involved or simply 588 00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:53,160 Speaker 1: tipped off? Or was it all just a massive coincidence. 589 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:58,160 Speaker 1: We can't ask Willy. He died in two thousand and seven. 590 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:03,400 Speaker 1: In a sense, the trophies were a kind of trash. 591 00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:08,240 Speaker 1: They were the raw materials of wish fulfillment among filmmakers 592 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:15,840 Speaker 1: without intent behind them. They're just trophies, nameless and faceless trophies. 593 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:20,759 Speaker 1: That oscar that once belonged to Vivianly and sold for 594 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:25,200 Speaker 1: a half million without her name, without her story, without 595 00:41:25,239 --> 00:41:27,960 Speaker 1: the legacy of Gone with the Wind, it would have 596 00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:31,879 Speaker 1: been just an auction of glorified tin alloy. If you've 597 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:36,600 Speaker 1: stolen one oscar or one hundred before they've been awarded, 598 00:41:37,239 --> 00:41:41,359 Speaker 1: what have you really stolen? It's solid, but it might 599 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:44,000 Speaker 1: as well just dissolve in your hands. 600 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:48,160 Speaker 5: Once they are in the hands of their winners, once 601 00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:54,759 Speaker 5: they symbolize the achievement that their winners accomplished, then they 602 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:57,239 Speaker 5: will be worth more. They still won't be able to 603 00:41:57,280 --> 00:42:00,640 Speaker 5: be sold, but they will be worth more in an 604 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:01,479 Speaker 5: abstract way. 605 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:06,960 Speaker 1: The oscars are currently manufactured by Police Talis of Art 606 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:12,480 Speaker 1: Foundry in New York, and unless you're Joseph Peatree, they 607 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:17,279 Speaker 1: probably look like every other oscar out there, with one 608 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:18,719 Speaker 1: small exception. 609 00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:22,640 Speaker 4: The new company had a better butt because they were 610 00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:26,480 Speaker 4: working with a newer technology that evolved. They went back 611 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:30,440 Speaker 4: to bronze, which was how they were originally made in. 612 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:35,160 Speaker 4: Bronze is much harder than britannium is, and so polishing 613 00:42:35,239 --> 00:42:37,719 Speaker 4: his rear down would take a lot more work than 614 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:40,960 Speaker 4: it's worth to try to do that. But I would 615 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,560 Speaker 4: say he had probably a little bit better butt with 616 00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:51,200 Speaker 4: the new guys. Yeah, there was advancements in butt technology. 617 00:42:56,239 --> 00:43:01,080 Speaker 1: There are mysteries within mysteries in the two thousand Oscars heist, 618 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:05,800 Speaker 1: how the trophies wound up in that dumpster, whether Larry 619 00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:09,279 Speaker 1: Lee Dent knew what he was driving off with, and 620 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:14,600 Speaker 1: whether it was just sheer coincidence Willie Fulgear stumbled upon 621 00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:19,560 Speaker 1: a trash heap containing five hundred pounds of his brother 622 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:25,239 Speaker 1: in law's stolen loot. But there's one more. Just what 623 00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:31,240 Speaker 1: happened to those fifty five recovered statuettes. Were they given 624 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:34,799 Speaker 1: to winners during the ceremony or did they suffer a 625 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:38,720 Speaker 1: more gruesome fate. Here's Joseph Petrie again. 626 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:43,480 Speaker 4: There was always kind of some conflicting evidence or stories 627 00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:47,279 Speaker 4: as to what actually happened it was. Some had suggested 628 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:50,400 Speaker 4: that they had been destroyed because they were stolens and 629 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:54,520 Speaker 4: now they're painted. If you will, knowing the Academy, that 630 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:58,680 Speaker 4: would more than likely be my first thought. I never 631 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:02,239 Speaker 4: knew for a fact, or nobody in our organization to 632 00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:06,560 Speaker 4: my knowledge, knew exactly to effect exactly what happened. 633 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:10,360 Speaker 1: At the time of their recovery. Academy executive director Bruce 634 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:14,160 Speaker 1: Davis said some of them would be handed out a 635 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,879 Speaker 1: two thousand and one article in Vanity Fair states these 636 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:23,080 Speaker 1: stolen statuettes were cleaned, replated, and handed out the following year. 637 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:27,880 Speaker 1: Because the statuettes have serial numbers, it would be simple 638 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:32,520 Speaker 1: enough to trace the ones taken from Roadway Express and 639 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:36,839 Speaker 1: see if and when they were ever awarded. But a 640 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:41,799 Speaker 1: representative for the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences 641 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:47,040 Speaker 1: didn't return our request for comment on what exactly happened 642 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:52,280 Speaker 1: to those fifty two trophies. Oscar has a mystique to him, 643 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:55,799 Speaker 1: and it looks like the Academy wants to preserve that. 644 00:44:56,719 --> 00:45:01,480 Speaker 1: And yes, I said fifty two. Of the fifty five 645 00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:06,160 Speaker 1: oscars taken, only fifty two were in the dumpster. One 646 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,880 Speaker 1: was recovered three years later in two thousand and three, 647 00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:14,520 Speaker 1: when a Florida drug bust uncovered a statuette in the 648 00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:18,160 Speaker 1: possession of a drug dealer. When asked where he got it, 649 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:20,839 Speaker 1: the man said it had been given to him by 650 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:24,799 Speaker 1: a person who had owed him ten thousand dollars. He 651 00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:28,760 Speaker 1: took the Oscar in lieu of payment. That leaves two 652 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:34,960 Speaker 1: oscars outstanding. Somewhere out there there are two trophies, never inscribed, 653 00:45:35,239 --> 00:45:41,600 Speaker 1: never awarded. Maybe they're standing sentry in someone's garage or bathroom, 654 00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:46,640 Speaker 1: modestly polished buttocks and all. If anyone out there happens 655 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:50,959 Speaker 1: to be listening and has one or both, Olivia has 656 00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:51,759 Speaker 1: a request. 657 00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,160 Speaker 5: If you do, and if you're listening, please please contact me. 658 00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:57,920 Speaker 5: I would really love to talk to you about that. 659 00:46:01,719 --> 00:46:05,440 Speaker 2: Another solid episode in the books. Any last minute Oscar 660 00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:09,320 Speaker 2: thoughts or projections for either of you. Have you seen 661 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:11,000 Speaker 2: many of the nominated films? 662 00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:13,920 Speaker 1: I have seen most of them, but unfortunately with a baby, 663 00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:15,920 Speaker 1: it's hard to get to a theater, so I've watched 664 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:20,000 Speaker 1: them at home, which is never quite the same experience. 665 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:22,920 Speaker 1: But I feel very generic, like I'm like on a 666 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,239 Speaker 1: dating profile being like I love movies, but I do 667 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:28,040 Speaker 1: I love movies. I'm such a sucker for like a 668 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:31,200 Speaker 1: montage during the Oscars. It always makes me tear up. 669 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:34,560 Speaker 1: I really love the Oscars in a non cheesy, ironic way. 670 00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:37,279 Speaker 1: It gets me very hyped and excited and makes me 671 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,160 Speaker 1: very proud to work in this industry. 672 00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:42,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm right there with you. I absolutely love the Oscars. 673 00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:44,960 Speaker 6: My mother used to always host Oscar parties when I 674 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,279 Speaker 6: was young, and I still keep up through tradition where 675 00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:50,279 Speaker 6: I print out all of the nominations. We have a 676 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:52,919 Speaker 6: contest who can pick the enough of them to write 677 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:55,040 Speaker 6: to win. And I look forward to it every year 678 00:46:55,080 --> 00:46:57,000 Speaker 6: because it's just one of the coolest things. And I've 679 00:46:57,080 --> 00:46:59,799 Speaker 6: never considered actually winning one of the Little Goldman statues, 680 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,840 Speaker 6: but stealing one, now that's something I can get behind. 681 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:06,080 Speaker 2: I think we should win one if we were going 682 00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:08,320 Speaker 2: to set our sights on it. Is it a short film? 683 00:47:08,520 --> 00:47:08,680 Speaker 3: Oh? 684 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:10,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, that maybe is the easiest one to win because 685 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,400 Speaker 1: you can kind of sneak in. Maybe. I think animated 686 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:16,280 Speaker 1: short people aren't really paying attention to that one. 687 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 6: Yeah, you seed a strong premise, some interesting iconic artwork, 688 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:20,399 Speaker 6: and you're almost happy there. 689 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:21,959 Speaker 1: Can you draw? Can any of us draw? 690 00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:23,720 Speaker 2: There's always a catch? 691 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:25,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, I can color, So if you guys can draw, 692 00:47:25,920 --> 00:47:26,760 Speaker 3: I can do the coloring. 693 00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:31,720 Speaker 2: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 694 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:35,840 Speaker 2: This show is hosted by Danish Schwartz, Zarren Burnett, and 695 00:47:35,960 --> 00:47:40,880 Speaker 2: Jason English. Our senior producer is Josh Fisher. Today's episode 696 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:44,440 Speaker 2: was written by Jake Rosson, editing and sound design by 697 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:49,680 Speaker 2: Jonathan Washington, mixing and mastering by Josh Fisher. Additional editing 698 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:54,200 Speaker 2: by Mary Doo original music by Elise McCoy, show logo 699 00:47:54,320 --> 00:47:59,240 Speaker 2: by Lucy Kintonia, Social clips by Yarberry Media. Our executive 700 00:47:59,239 --> 00:48:02,240 Speaker 2: producer is Ja in English. If you want to email 701 00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:07,120 Speaker 2: the show, another mailbag episode is coming Very Special Episodes 702 00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:12,120 Speaker 2: at gmail dot com. Very Special Episodes is a production 703 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:13,600 Speaker 2: of iHeart Podcasts.