One of those “truly Oscar worthy performances” huh? LOL
First of all, I recall that, in addition to an award, several nominations have been revoked. (The music for “The Godfather”, which turned out to have been used in a previous film, and the nomination to the screenwriters of the Bowery Boys comedy “High Society”, which had been meant for the screenwriters of the musical “High Society”, are the only ones I can think of at this moment)
Second, Homer stole both Oscars, but was forced to hand Mr. Ngor’s back after his murder. I thought you’d remember, as it was in the papers at that time.
Thank you, Governor Quinn!!! I sure don’t recall the story about the stolen Oscars, sorry. Maybe something the Wyoming press didn’t find newsworthy? LOL
Are you sure, Governor Quinn? The L.I.S.A. says:
How can he “hand the Oscar back” if it’s been flushed?
Posted the last time this topic came up:
The people trying to revoke Michael Moore’s Oscar
The Academy’s documentary rules
To be hyper-technical, Hattie McDaniels did not win an “Oscar.” Supporting players were not given Oscar statuettes at the time she won her Academy Award. She received a plaque. So if you want to win a bar bet, cite Whoopi Goldberg as the first black actress to win an “Oscar” since Oscars were first awarded in the supporting categories in 1943.
I’m not trying to say anything about you, SRB, but let’s not kid ourselves, shall we? Just read the revoketheoscar site intro and you can see it’s a political thing.
I always thought that Linda Hunt should have been awarded the Best Supporting Actor award for The Year of Living Dangerously, but they gave her Best Supporting Actress instead…
Why would you think it appropriate to give an award for male actors to a female actor?
Because she was playing a male character – not a female character in male drag – and she was absolutely convincing. Until you saw a female name in the credits there was not a single moment of the film that you doubted that this person was a male. One of the greatest performances I ever watched.
But the award is for an “actress”, not an “actor”.
Linda Hunt is female. She was acting. She was playing a male. She did a good job of that. Just because she was supposed to someone of a different gender does not erase the facts that Ms. Hunt is indeed female and acting.
The comment was intended as a wry observation on the unique nature of her performance – not to be taken literally.
Apparently wry bread is in short supply today.
Ahh, I see now. Perhaps we need to work on getting Gwyneth Paltrow’s Oscar revoked now too? 
Well, yes on general principles.
But she was in fact playing a female in male drag. Not the same thing.
Of course, Hillary Swank won an Oscar for the role of a girl living as a boy only a few years later. Makes me wonder about the Academy voters…
You can find reviews and audits of people who might need to return their Oscars if you search this site.
Warning: Humor!
Now there’s a horrifying thought.
Marley, thank you for your comment. The question did arise from a politcal conversation, but my curiosity was based on wanting to know if Oscars ever WERE revoked. The technicality fascinated me, not the substance of anyone’s politics.
Those who want Michael Moore’s Oscar revoked are living in a fantasy world. However, there is a current controversy over a different Oscar winner who might in fact lose his statuette.
A few years ago, James Frazier, a wildlife cinematographer, won an Academy Award in the special technical ceremony for a rather complicated lens device he invented. Judged a breakthrough at the time for its ability to cleanly handle “deep focus” photography (i.e. keeping objects close to the camera and far away both in focus), it was always a proprietary secret. You couldn’t buy the lens; you could only rent it from Panavision (to whom Frazier exclusively licensed it). And you couldn’t take it apart to see how it worked, either.
Unfortunately, after some investigation stemming from a patent-infringement suit Frazier filed against a German competitor, a judge decided that the lens does not work as advertised and is in fact a fraud, and he nullified the patent. As a result of this, it is very likely that Frazier’s technical Oscar will be withdrawn, though the Academy is understandably playing things close to the vest.
No, it’s not as exciting as a political gadfly inflicting himself on the establishment, but then that’s the way things usually are.
Actually, the United Kingdom **did** have a film nominated as Best Foreign Language Film (it was in Welsh).
Plenty of documentaries “stage” scenes. In fact, Oscar even nominated a “documentary” that was 100% staged.
That’s a very interesting story, Cervaise.
Cervaise, I loved your comments, thank you!! I had heard some bit about that lens you spoke of, and the ensuing problems, but did not realize it could mean his Oscar being revoked. Seems a bit far fetched to me, but what the hey? I’m no Academy Voter!