Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Sideshow

By SHARON FINK
Published February 24, 2005

IT'S MORE THAN THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS: No item is too small, no effort too painstaking to take, no imagined need too quirky when it comes to putting together the annual SUV full of free stuff given to Oscar nominees, presenters, performers and VIPs.

About the only thing not provided is the SUV. Or at least a Pontiac. (And if Pontiac can provide free cars for Oprah to give away ...)

Here are some of the freebies that Sunday's Academy Award participants will be making room for (or sending to eBay, or giving their household help for Christmas):

FOR NOMINEES: M&Ms has produced a batch of candy with "Oscar nominee" stamped on each tiny piece. Everyone nominated will get a handful in a Lennox crystal bowl designed by lifestyle maven Kate Spade.

The women will receive from beauty products company Lancome a custom, handmade leather satchel filled with cosmetics from its new line by celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman, a bottle of its Tresor perfume with a wearable Swarovski crystal ring, megahip Oliver Peoples sunglasses and towels from Saint-Tropez swimwearmaker Vilebrequin.

Revlon is giving each best actress and supporting actress candidate more makeup, chosen specifically for each one. The container will be a high-end Bespoke Ebury handbag commissioned from British handbagmaker Anya Hindmarch. Each bag will have a message from each nominee's leading man and director embossed onto the leather lining in their handwriting. (Revlon notes in a news release that because supporting actress nominee Natalie Portman is a vegan, her bag will be canvas and come with a pair of specially made matching espadrilles.)

FOR THE PRESENTERS, PERFORMERS AND VIPS: The official Oscar gift basket, with items chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, probably will be worth more than $30,000, says Nike Communications, a PR firm representing some of the contributing companies. It will include:

A coffee machine, grinder, electric kettle and two-slice toaster from Krups, along with a one-year supply of gourmet coffees and teas (approximate value $700).

Cosmetics and beauty appliances from Shu Uemura in a specially made box ($600).

A two-night stay in a suite at the Carlyle hotel in New York ($2,300).

A three-night stay for two (plus a "personal surf-butler") at St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point, Calif. ($5,900).

Kay Unger cashmere pajama bottoms ($500).

T3 Tourmaline hair dryer, which calls itself the world's faster dryer ($200).

A 14-karat-gold Jelly Belly Bean Machine and a year's supply of Jelly Belly jelly beans ($350-$400).

AND FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE WHO MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE: Even those with the fortitude to get a seat in the red-carpet bleachers at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles get swag this year. Revlon will give them red satin clutches with what it says is its celebrity-favorite makeup, FabuLash Mascara and Super Lustrous Lipstick (approximate value $15).

Sharon Fink can be reached at 727 893-8525 or fink@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 00:53:06]