(Newser)
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Face it, Taylor Lautner: This is your only chance. Fifteen Oscar statuettes will be auctioned Tuesday in the largest such sale ever, says the Los Angeles Times, and bids during the online and telephone event are expected to reach up to $4 million. All of the awards currently belong to one man identified only as an LA businessman with ties to the entertainment industry.
The statuettes from films like Citizen Kane and Wuthering Heights are all from before 1950, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started making winners sign contracts saying neither they nor their family would sell the award without first offering it back for $1. Obviously, the academy is less than pleased with the upcoming auction. "The academy, its members and the many film artists and craftspeople who've won Academy Awards believe strongly that Oscars should be won, not purchased," said a spokeswoman.
