Here’s What’s Inside the Nearly $125,000 Gift Bag Given to Brendan Fraser, Steven Spielberg and Other Oscar Nominees
There's no bigger accolade in Hollywood than receiving an Academy Award nomination.
For established actors, it can be a capstone to an illustrious career. For newcomers, it can launch them into stardom. But on top of critical acclaim and higher earning potential, there's another benefit to getting an Oscar nod: the gift bag.
For the 21st straight year, LA-based marketing company Distinctive Assets is delivering its infamous "Everybody Wins" gift bags to nominees in the acting and directing categories.
The 2023 edition of the bag – which isn't affiliated with the Academy Awards – is valued at roughly $123,000, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It, and includes more than 60 gifts ranging from a $16 package of chocolate-covered pretzels to a $40,000 visit to a luxury Canadian estate.
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Lash Fary, founder of Distinctive Assets, tells CNBC Make It that once the Academy Awards nominations are announced, the process of delivering the bags begins.
In the weeks leading up to the Oscars ceremony, the Distinctive Assets team reaches out to the representatives for the nominees to see if they're interested in receiving the gift bags and to plan out logistics.
"There's nothing like a first time nominee's enthusiasm about getting this gift bag," Fary says.
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In some cases, the Distinctive Assets team needs to figure out not only what hotel nominees are staying at, but what alias their room is listed under.
Because of the large quantity of products that is being gifted, Distinctive Assets delivers everything packed into two suitcases.
"A lot of these folks are traveling, or they're going to transport it somewhere else," he says. "So we'd like to make it as convenient as possible for them."
What's included in this year's 'Everybody Wins' gift bag?
This year's biggest offering is a $40,000 three-night stay at the remote luxury property The Lifestyle in Ottawa, Canada.
Nominees who decide to visit the all-inclusive estate will get to enjoy a fully-stocked fridge filled with gourmet foods, an in-home movie theater as well as the ability to drive a 1965 Shelby AC Cobra 427 Roadster as well as a 2023 McLaren Artura.
The bags also include dozens of other items and vouchers. These are a few highlights:
- A $9,000, three-night stay at the Faro Punta Imperatore Lighthouse in Ischia, Italy for the nominee and up to 7 friends.
- A one square meter plot of land in Australia through the Pieces of Australia conservation project, valued at $50.
- A $12,000 arm liposuction procedure from Dr. Thomas Su promising to "give women an instant lean and toned look" with "smooth shapes and perfectly defined contours."
- Shinery Radiance Wash, a hand soap featured on the Oprah's Favorite Things list that cleans your jewelry while you wash your hands.
- A private hair restoration consultation with leading hair transplant surgeon Dr. Alan J. Bauman valued at $7,000.
- Up to $10,000 worth of procedures from Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich, including chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing and Botox.
It is up to each recipient to decide if they want to use the vouchers that they are given.
The IRS views the value gift bags as taxable income, meaning that the more trips and procedures a nominee decides to accept, the more they will pay come Tax Day.
In the 21 years that Fary has been gifting luxury vacations to Oscar nominees, no one has ever taken all of them.
"If they redeem one trip, that's all they really have time to do with their film schedules family, all that kind of stuff," he says. "In my experience it's very unlikely that they would take two trips."
Who is eligible for the swag bag this year?
Because the "Everybody Wins" bag isn't officially sanctioned by the Oscars, it is up to Fary to decide which nominees will receive the sought-after bag.
The recipients of this year's bag will be the nominees for "Best Director," "Best Actress," "Best Actor," "Best Supporting Actress" and "Best Supporting Actor."
In the case of "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which was directed by the team of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Fary will be sending them each a gift bag.
"It's the first time this has come up for us that I remember," he says. "But there's plenty to go around."
These are the 27 recipients of this year's gift bag:
- Host: Jimmy Kimmel
- Best Director nominees: Martin McDonagh, Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Steven Spielberg, Todd Field, Ruben Östlund
- Best Actor nominees: Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Paul Mescal, Bill Nighy
- Best Actress nominees: Cate Blanchett, Ana De Armas, Andrea Riseborough, Michelle Williams, Michelle Yeoh
- Best Supporting Actor nominees: Brendan Gleeson, Brian Tyree Henry, Judd Hirsch, Barry Keoghan, Key Huy Quan
- Best Supporting Actress nominees: Angela Bassett, Hong Chau, Kerry Condon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu
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