CITIZEN KANE OSCAR TO GO ON AUCTION BLOCK

Sotheby's auction house said Monday that it has been authorized to auction to only Oscar won for Orson Welles's 1941 film Citizen Kane. The Oscar, which Welles won for screenwriting, is due to go on the auction block on December 11. It is presently owned by the Dax Foundation, which describes itself as a private philanthropic foundation. Oscar statues are rarely sold. Since 1950 winners have had to sign agreements with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards them, granting the academy the right of first refusal to buy the statuette back for $1.00. On Monday Sotheby's estimated that the statue could be worth between $800,000 and $1.2 billion.

16/10/2007