logo
Inside the 2025 Oscars gift bag: A $2M luxury haul for nominees

Inside the 2025 Oscars gift bag: A $2M luxury haul for nominees

Express Tribune26-02-2025
As Hollywood's biggest stars prepare to attend the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025, they won't just be competing for a golden statuette—they'll also be taking home an extravagant $2 million gift bag filled with luxury trips, high-end beauty treatments, and even plastic surgery offers.
Photo: Distinctive Assets
This year's Oscars swag bag stands out not just for its opulence but also for its philanthropic efforts. Due to the recent devastating wildfires in Southern California, nominees will be gifted:
$1 million in disaster recovery support from Bright Harbor to help affected families.
Complimentary home renovation project management from LA-based builder Maison Construction.
A 50% discount on construction services for those impacted by the fires.
Nominees will have plenty of options for post-Oscars relaxation, including:
A four-night stay at JOALI Maldives or JOALI BEING, valued at $16,000, offering private butlers, gourmet dining, and spa retreats.
A five-night luxury wellness retreat at Santani Resort in Sri Lanka, worth $6,000, featuring personalized spa treatments and holistic wellness programs.
A five-star stay at the Cotton House Hotel in Barcelona, Spain, perfect for indulging in the city's renowned culinary scene and cultural experiences.
Additionally, nominees will receive access to the 3D Wellness Retreat, an immersive virtual program designed to promote mindfulness, self-improvement, and stress relief.
One of the most talked-about inclusions in this year's gift bag is plastic surgery offerings from ArtLipo, led by renowned cosmetic surgeon Dr. Thomas Su. The gift includes:
Celebrity Arms Liposuction & Celebrity Legs Liposuction, valued at over $20,000, offering a 360-degree slimming effect with high-definition contouring.
Nominees will also receive exclusive beauty treatments and skincare products, such as:
A $500 Function Health membership, granting access to 100+ lab tests covering hormones, immunity, stress levels, and toxin exposure.
$500 worth of Miage Skincare products, featuring the brand's RIT-5 Skin Renewal Complex.
A $100 luxury toner from Danucera, providing exfoliation and hydration in one step.
Ilia Beauty and L'Oréal Paris cosmetics and Vedi Beauty's long-lasting lipstick collection.
A Swiss skincare gift set from INSTYTUTUM, worth $350, including anti-aging and brightening serums.
To complement their red carpet-ready looks, nominees will also receive:
A $300 Nomatic backpack, designed with 22 compartments and water-resistant materials.
A $200 Sattaché Classic Bag, an eco-friendly and hygienic luxury shoe bag.
A custom jewelry experience from OMGIGI, valued at $500, allowing stars to design their own exclusive pieces.
The 'L.A. Strong' Stretchy Bracelet, created specifically for this year's gift bag to honor wildfire victims.
In addition to beauty and travel perks, nominees will receive:
Beboe luxury cannabis products, known as the 'Hermès of marijuana.'
Dogwalkers cannabis pre-rolls, ideal for relaxation.
Frontera Chilean wine, one of the best-selling wine brands in the U.S.
A luxury tea box set from Brook37 The Atelier.
$100 gift cards and exclusive merch from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
A $250 Blanc Par Rouge maple-infused gourmet gift set.
Cate Brown Studio's designer dog wear and handcrafted throw pillows, worth $500 each.
Despite controversies surrounding some Oscar nominees—such as Best Actress contender Karla Sofía Gascón—event organizers have confirmed that all nominees, regardless of recent headlines, will be offered the gift bag.
The Oscars 2025 will take place on Sunday, March 2, hosted by Conan O'Brien. While only a few will take home an Academy Award, every nominee will leave with a swag bag valued at more than most people's yearly salary—a luxurious consolation prize by any measure.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Did Chris Martin just roast the viral CEO scandal during Coldplay's show?
Did Chris Martin just roast the viral CEO scandal during Coldplay's show?

Express Tribune

time8 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Did Chris Martin just roast the viral CEO scandal during Coldplay's show?

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has finally addressed the viral scandal that erupted after one of the band's jumbotron moments caught a CEO in an uncomfortable position. Speaking to fans at the band's show in Hull, Martin delivered a scathing statement that made clear he was aware of the online storm surrounding the incident. The controversy began on 16 July at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts when the camera cut to Andy Byron, then CEO of the New York-based company Astronomer, alongside the firm's Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot. The pair were seen holding hands, with Cabot leaning against Byron, before both quickly ducked out of view as the crowd watched. Martin, unaware of Byron's marital status, quipped at the time that they were either shy or having an affair. The clip went viral within hours, fuelling widespread speculation and sparking a storm on Reddit, TikTok and Twitter. Shortly after, Astronomer confirmed on LinkedIn that Byron had resigned, stating that the board had accepted his decision to step down. At the Hull concert, Martin took the opportunity to address the moment directly. Standing in front of thousands, he told fans: 'This is called a jumbotron, and we've done this for a long long time, and we pick people out to say hello, and sometimes they turn out to be internationally massive scandal, sure. But most of the time we're just trying to say hello to people, that's all. Now all of this bullsh*t.' Martin went on to joke about the upcoming kiss cam segment, warning the audience: 'We're going to do our f**king kiss cam… so if you're not prepared to be on international news, please duck.' He later told the crowd that life was about turning lemons into lemonade and confirmed the tradition would continue. Coldplay are currently on tour with multiple dates at Wembley Stadium between 19 August and 8 September. Tickets remain available online.

300-year-old violin to star at UK music festival
300-year-old violin to star at UK music festival

Express Tribune

time20 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

300-year-old violin to star at UK music festival

Berlin-based South Korean violinist Inmo Yang plays the 'Carrodus violin' in Berlin, Germany on August 18, 2025. A rare violin, one of the most valuable in the world crafted by an Italian violin maker three centuries ago, is to be played for the first time as part of the BBC Proms by South Korean violinist Inmo Yang. Photo: AFP One of the most valuable violins in the world, crafted three centuries ago and once owned by composer Niccolo Paganini, is to be played at a top UK classical music festival. The violin, known as the Carrodus, is one of only around 150 made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu known to have survived down the centuries, and was acquired by a philanthropic group for $20 million in June. It was crafted in 1743 in Cremonia, northern Italy, and will be played for the first time as part of the BBC Proms by South Korean violinist Inmo Yang. The violin once owned by Italian virtuoso Paganini will be seen on August 28 at London's Royal Albert Hall. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have this instrument. This is easily one of the greatest instruments ever made," Yang, who is also making his debut at the Proms, told AFP. "I feel a duty to take good care of the instrument and make a beautiful sound, so that people know that it's worth playing these instruments rather than having them in a vault in a museum." The Stretton Society, a network of philanthropists, patrons and sponsors that has loaned the violin to Yang, seeks to acquire rare and valuable instruments to lend to the world's leading musicians. Guarneri was one of the most important violin makers of all time, alongside Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari, said the society's co-founder Stephan Jansen. Whereas Stradivari made instruments for the Church and the nobility, Guarneri's violins were made for musicians, and they became renowned for their deep and sonorous tones, Jansen said. "Inmo is one of the finest musicians of his generation," Jansen told AFP. "When he came to my house and I showed him the fiddle, it was clear from the very first second that this is a match," he said. "Because in the end, it's also about chemistry, you know?" Yang will perform Pablo de Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy", which he described as "a virtuoso piece for the violin". The broad palette of the violin adds the "strong, at times flirty character of the Carmen character," said Yang. The instrument's sound is also "quite unpredictable," he said, and "this kind of capricious nature really gives more liveliness to the piece". "Thinking that Paganini used this instrument is kind of spiritual, and I think people also want to hear Paganini's music played on his own violin," Yang added. mct/jkb/jxb One of the most valuable violins in the world, crafted by an Italian maker three centuries ago and once owned by composer Niccolo Paganini, is to be played at a top UK classical music festival. The violin, known as the Carrodus, is one of only around 150 made by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu known to have survived down the centuries, and was acquired by a philanthropic group for $20 million in June. It was crafted in 1743 in Cremonia, northern Italy, and will be played for the first time as part of the BBC Proms by South Korean violinist Inmo Yang. The violin once owned by famed Italian composer and violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini will be seen on August 28 at London's Royal Albert Hall. "I can't believe how lucky I am to have this instrument. This is easily one of the greatest instruments ever made," Yang, who is also making his debut at the Proms, told AFP. "I feel a duty to take good care of the instrument and make a beautiful sound, so that people know that it's worth playing these instruments rather than having them in a vault in a museum." The Stretton Society, a network of philanthropists, patrons and sponsors that has loaned the violin to Yang, seeks to acquire rare and valuable instruments to lend to the world's leading musicians. Guarneri was one of the most important violin makers of all time, alongside Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari, said the society's co-founder Stephan Jansen. Whereas Stradivari made instruments for the Church and the nobility, Guarneri's violins were made for musicians, and they became renowned for their deep and sonorous tones, Jansen said. "Inmo is one of the finest musicians of his generation," Jansen told AFP. "When he came to my house and I showed him the fiddle, it was clear from the very first second that this is a match," he said. "Because in the end, it's also about chemistry, you know?" Yang will perform Pablo de Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy", which he described as "a virtuoso piece for the violin". The broad palette of the violin adds the "strong, at times flirty character of the Carmen character," said Yang. The instrument's sound is also "quite unpredictable", he said, and "this kind of capricious nature really gives more liveliness to the piece". "Thinking that Paganini used this instrument is kind of spiritual, and I think people also want to hear Paganini's music played on his own violin," Yang added.

Frozen in Flashbulbs
Frozen in Flashbulbs

Express Tribune

time21 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Frozen in Flashbulbs

Every 19th August, World Photography Day is observed across the globe — a celebration of the art, science, and history of the photograph that honours all aspects of the medium. Nowhere is the power of photography more vividly felt than in the world of show business. From Hollywood glamour to Lollywood vibrancy, from red carpets to candid paparazzi shots, photography has been the silent partner of cinema, shaping how stars are remembered, adored, and sometimes scandalised. The day invites a simple reckoning in showbusiness: films move, but reputations sit still. A single frame on a red carpet, a campaign, or a paparazzi snap can define how an actor is remembered long after the box office receipts fade. The old studios knew the value of a meticulously crafted portrait. That logic hasn't vanished; it's merely migrated to platforms and phones. In show business, glamour is real, but so is the collateral. It remains a business built on images — carefully made, instantly shared, and, at times, painfully weaponised. In the early decades of Hollywood, the likes of Greta Garbo and Humphrey Bogart were sculpted into icons not just by the films they starred in but by the carefully staged portraits circulated by studios. Those black-and-white prints — Garbo's enigmatic gaze, Bogart's cigarette-tinged cool — set the template for celebrity culture. As curator and writer Dr Susan Bright notes of photography's recent history: "The smartphone and social media are the most significant changes to the medium over the last 20 years." The observation is blunt: technology changed the circulation, not the stakes. The image still does the heavy lifting-selling a premiere, cementing a persona, telegraphing a comeback. In 2025, World Photography Day lands in an ecosystem where a look can travel the world before a publicist hits "approved." No one understood the power of a single frame better than Richard Avedon, who spent decades photographing actors between fashion and cinema. His verdict was unsparing: "A portrait is not a likeness — it is — an opinion." The contemporary heir to that mindset is Annie Leibovitz, whose celebrity portraiture has set the tone for magazine culture for 40 years. "In portraiture, you have so much leeway — You can tell a story." Red carpets If premieres are publicity, the red carpet is performance art — a theatre of photography. Stars arrive in couture gowns and sharp tuxedos not just for those in attendance but for the millions who will scroll through images online within minutes. The ritual is as old as the Oscars themselves, but in the digital age, it has exploded into a 24/7 spectacle. Image architect Law Roach, who helped turn carpet strategy into pop-culture sport, frames a look as a message. In discussing a recent star-making editorial, he cast the styling as a deliberate statement — an answer to critics, built visually, look by look. The subtext is clear: wardrobe and photography do the storytelling together. That symbiosis explains why a carpet image — more than a soundbite — can spin off into memes, mood boards and trend pieces within minutes. Festivals and award shows know it; so do streamers selling shows through character-driven fashion beats. Pakistan's lens For South Asian stars, the image economy carries its own intensities. Pakistan's fashion scene has long produced photographers who understand celebrity as an editorial construction. Tapu Javeri, a pioneer of fashion photography in Karachi, is frank about the vocation: "If you want to be a good photographer you have to have an eye for everything." It's an old-school ethos, and it still underpins the best commercial and celebrity work coming out of Pakistan. There's a cost to the still frame's permanence. Once published, images detach from context, travel faster than corrections, and live longer than apologies. In South Asian celebrity culture — where politics and entertainment often overlap — images can also become proxies for culture wars. That's why some stars have grown more selective, stepping around paparazzi zones and communicating directly via controlled visuals. Bright's point about social platforms isn't just tech talk; it's power analysis. The camera hasn't changed as much as who gets to circulate the pictures first. For photographers and stylists, the stakes are similar: one cover can set a season's tone. And for audiences, the still image remains the easiest door into a star's world: a poster on a wall, a magazine on a coffee table, a pinned post. The moving image asks for time; the still asks for attention — and keeps it. Price of fame The camera's relationship with celebrities has always been double-edged. World Photography Day also prompts reflection on the relentless gaze that hounds film stars. The paparazzi boom of the 1990s and 2000s, fuelled by tabloids and glossy magazines, often reduced stars to hunted figures. Princess Diana's tragic death in 1997, following a high-speed chase by photographers in Paris, remains the darkest reminder of what happens when the hunger for images oversteps boundaries. More recently, stars such as Kristen Stewart have spoken out against invasive photography. "You can't think one thing about yourself and then have a million people say something different. Your sense of self gets disjointed," she told Vanity Fair. Today, the monopoly of star photographers has been shattered by the ubiquity of smartphones. Every fan in a concert hall or outside a film set is, in effect, a potential paparazzo. The result is a paradox: stars have never been more photographed, yet they've also never had more control over which images the world sees. As AI enters the conversation, celebrity photography faces new challenges. Fake "photos" of actors are now circulating online with alarming realism, sparking concerns about consent and authenticity. A closing frame From Monroe's timeless allure to Shah Rukh's outstretched arms, from the blinding flashbulbs of Cannes to the humble selfies stars post in their downtime, photography has always been cinema's closest companion. World Photography Day often coincides with the tail-end of the summer film festival circuit. At Venice, Toronto, and Telluride, as much attention is lavished on the flashes of cameras as on the screenings themselves. It doesn't just celebrate cameras; it acknowledges their leverage. The still image is the most portable unit of fame — simple to share, hard to outrun. If that sounds stark, it is. But it's also the reason a great photograph can lift a performance into legend, and why a careless snap can swamp a career for months. In showbusiness, the lens is never neutral. Use it — or it will use you.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store