The swag bag is dead, and according to the New York Daily News, Edward Norton killed it. The paper reports that the actor shamed the Academy and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into discontinuing the tradition of giving presenters at the Oscars and the Golden Globes lavish gift baskets stuffed with five figures worth of freebies and luxury items. The goodie bags had been under scrutiny for some time by the IRS, so their demise was probably inevitable, but what may have spurred the awards groups to pull the plug is this recent New York Magazine interview with Norton, who, while promoting his movie The Painted Veil (pictured, featuring Naomi Watts and Norton), said, "If these evenings are going to be a celebration of our craft and what we express about what’s going on in the world, then picking through $35,000 gift baskets is disgusting and shameful." He added, "My suggestion was to have the Academy commit to contributions in the name of the winners, but I don’t know what will come of that." (Translation: Fat chance.)
So, is this a good thing? Is Norton a good Samaritan or a killjoy? Will not reading about the lavish perks given to awards presenters detract from your enjoyment of the Oscar season, or does it come as a relief?
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There were honestly people who received substantial enjoyment from hearing about what types of products were included in gift baskets? That’s slightly baffling. Is the enjoyment derived from knowing how much these baskets were worth? I’m siding with Norton on this one. I don’t mind the notion that he cares about his craft and how his profession is perceived.
I always thought it was baffling that the few people who can afford such lavish gifts tend to be the people who never appreciated getting them free in the first place.
Good for him!!!! About time…that is a year’s salary for the average American.
Bravo Edward Norton. It’s about time someone had the guts and common decency to speak out about this unseemly practice. Surely someone in the entertainment world can figure out a way to continue to provide the publicity the swag donors crave while donating the proceeds to worthy causes. Anybody heard of eBay???
After the Sopranos made such a cool episode about this? Man that stinks! I kept hoping some schmoe would immitate Christofa and would punch someone in the face for their goodie bag.
Lavish gifts and free goodies are being taken away? So now we’ve only got the massive red carpet, interviews with D listers and six figure costing gowns to remind us of who’s famous? The agony!
It did kill all the enthusiasm I once had for trying to figure out how to become a presenter at one of the major awards shows. But then, that enthusiasm only existed because I can’t afford any of the wondrous items they received. Guess they’ll have to figure out a new way to get free cells and sunglasses. I feel for them deeply….
killjoy! whatever will kathy do?!
“It did kill all the enthusiasm I once had for trying to figure out how to become a presenter at one of the major awards shows. But then, that enthusiasm only existed because I can’t afford any of the wondrous items they received. Guess they’ll have to figure out a new way to get free cells and sunglasses. I feel for them deeply….”
LOL – me too!
Dammit, Ep Sato…
“Lavish gifts and free goodies are being taken away? So now we’ve only got the massive red carpet, interviews with D listers and six figure costing gowns to remind us of who’s famous? The agony!”
You took the words right out of my mouth (er, fingertips rather)!
I don’t know why anyone cares really. I think the inflating costs of motion picture production (I mean, does it really cost $70,000 to blow up some lunky crap car from a junkyard?) is more frightening than how much that skin creme and trip to Bermuda costs. I was kind of hoping that – by the grace of the powers that be – whenever I finally made it up to that level as an aspiring writer that I would be able to get a hovercraft vehicle in MY gift basket, just for being awesome.
So what’s the new deal? Gift cards to McD’s with the following note…
“Thanks for taking the time out of your BUSY post-release PARTYING schedule to congratulate yourself and your esteemed ‘colleagues,’ here’s a gift from us to clog what isn’t there in the first place because you stepped on so many people to get here!”
???
=)
I think the IRS requiring that celebrities pay taxes on the gift bags that they accept may have contributed to their death. Why would they accept something they have to pay for when they already have all that stuff? They usually just gave away all that crap anyway. This is going to hit their assistants worse then it will hit them.
The swag-a-thon actually dimmed my enthusiasm for the couple of awards shows that I enjoy. Some flowers or a free massage is a thank-you; thousands of dollars worth of gadgets and services given to people who could afford them ten times over is disgusting consumerism. When millionaires are treated to $35000 goodie bags, is it any wonder that the rich get richer while the middle class vanishes and the poor starve? Good for Edward Norton for helping to kill this practice.
These people can afford more than 35, 000 thousand dollars worth of goodies, in many cases, a 35, 000 dollar gift to them seems mighty poor… so i’m glad they got it over with… it’s not bad enough that they lead dream lives, they have to be given a gift to be shown how lucky they are? that makes no sense.
Nice work Norton! Listen, I have no problem with the privately financed six-figured parties, the ones that take place post-Oscars, but those baskets were always ridiculous to me. Shame on anyone who dislikes the idea of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. It’s one thing to “earn it,” but to merely show up to an awards show doesn’t deserve a $35,000 gift! These actors should be the ones paying the academy for an increase in industry status.
So noble – So he is going to give back the gift bags or make a contribution for the ones he already recived – right? right? – cough hypocrite, cough
Good for him.
Who else do we think is “our generation,” that norton selflessly credits for such a stance?
Good for E. Norton. Found that practice a little disgusting. Always thought the people getting those bags should donate them to be auctioned off for charity. Like some of the women do with their outfits.
i like him ever more now.
It’s about time….
Glad he said something about it. Movie starts make tons of money. They don’t need all of that stuff… they can go out and buy it themselves!
They should get any of their clothes for free either, but I guess if I were famous and Dolce and Gabbana wanted to give me free stuff, I wouldn’t turn it down!
Jo: How many of these awards shows does Edward Norton attend? I watch a fair amount of them, and I would have to say aside from maybe the Oscars, I’ve never seen him at any. So how can you call him a hypocrite? I’d say wait and see, when the awards season really starts getting going, how many actors are suddenly going to be unable to attend because of prior committments (when we know it’s because they won’t be getting that bag’o’swag). Then we’ll know who the real hypocrites are.
Yay!! Good for him.
I am so HAPPY that someone in Hollywood finally spoke out against the idiocy of giving thousands of dollars in free merchandise to people who could easily afford to buy everything they were given! The interesting thing will be to see how many “stars” (i.e Paris Hilton and her ilk) just stop going to these shows now that the free stuff is gone.
And am I the only one who wished–just once–to get my hands on one of those goodie bags? LOL
Ed Norton is awesome, it was the right move.
Seriously, is there anyone–including the recipients themselves–who is really gonna whine publicly about this? The practice is excess in the face of excess itself; it’s more than the icing on the cake, it’s another freakin’ CAKE or two on the cake. Let’s let award nights require celebrities to get “paid” for the night with free press; it’s still more than most deserve.
I feel kinda bad for Jennifer Hudson. Its her first experience with all this crap, and I bet it would be fun if only for one occasion
I think it was a great move! Those bags were crass and out of control. Good job, Ed!
Norton is of the old school. He’s a real actor that takes his career seriously. More power to him.
It’s ridiculous how much free stuff celebrities get, when they’re the people who can actually afford expensive crap like that. What a crazy idea that they give things to people who are actually in need?! I think Norton is one of the few celebrities who actually has it right.
Way to go Ed Norton. The fact that this is even a story is a comment in and of itself about our American society, but at least Ed Norton can remind us about priorities.
Hollywood has become less and less about art and more and more about celebrity, and its pathetic.
Now please excuse me and I continue to read Entertainment Weekly …sigh.