Only a few Oscar nominees will end up with a coveted gold statuette at the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday, but none will go home empty handed.
Los Angeles-based marketing firm Distinctive Assets will be handing out its annual "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee Gift Bag," valued at more than $45,000, to the talented and well-dressed "losers," the company said on Tuesday.
Among the items in the gift bags, known as swag bags, are trips to Australia, Hawaii and Mexico, personal training sessions, condoms, a bottle of tequila, hand-illustrated tennis shoes, appointments for injectable fillers, and 'portion-controlled' dinnerware for those watching their figure.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, stopped its own practice of giving gift baskets to presenters and performers in 2007 after coming under closer scrutiny from U.S. tax authorities.
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Celebrities who receive gifts and free trips at awards shows are expected to declare them to the Internal Revenue Service as income and pay the appropriate taxes.
The Distinctive Assets gift bag is not endorsed by the Academy but has been creating consolation goodie bags for 11 years now. The bags are delivered to the homes of losing nominees or through their agents or publicists.
This year's "Not Everyone Wins...." swag bag also includes an under-the-counter water filtration system, acupuncture and aromatherapy sessions, a one-week stay at a fitness and weight-loss retreat, and a one-year membership to London's Heathrow Airport's private VIP service.
Nominees' children also benefit: They get to enroll in professional all-kid circus classes.
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