“My 11-year-old swung low,” she said — before sharing the note, which was even “signed” by the Academy president.
Sarah Polley is glad she can still call herself an Oscar winner after this brutal prank!
The 44-year-old director took to Instagram to share a hilarious prank her 11-year-old son pulled on April Fool’s Day — which suggested her Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award win “Women Talking” was a big mistake.
Sharing a photo of the letter, she captioned the pic: “My 11-year-old swung low for April Fool’s Day this year.”
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“We say this to you with the deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake,” the letter read. “We are giving you one more week to enjoy its presence in your home, but after that period of time you must mail it back to LA, where we will give it to the rightful best-adapted screenplay: All Quiet on the Western Front.”
According to the faux message, the Academy realized they made a mistake upon announcing Polley as winner, but wanted to avoid another “Year of the Moonlight” fiasco, a reference to the 2017 best picture mix-up at the Oscars.
Posing as the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, David Rubin, her son assured the filmmaker that “this is much too cruel to be a joke” … despite receiving it on April Fool’s Day.
“We feel it is wrong you get this note on April 1st, (Although we do not know you will, we sent it on express mail, so our estimates show it will reach you around then) as you will probably think it is a joke, we feel that is wrong, so another letter will be sent… assuring you that this is not a joke.”
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“This is much too cruel to be a joke,” the statement continued. “We deeply apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you.”
It also explained it was “Take Your Child to Work” day at the Academy, which is why Polley received a physical letter instead of an email as, as one kid “insisted we send a letter to be more formal.”
The director and co-screenwriter of “All Quiet on the Western Front” Edward Berger seemed to get a laugh out of the letter — responding to Polley on Twitter.
“Dear Sarah, to save on mailing costs as I live overseas the Academy has asked me to provide you with my address so you can ship the Oscar directly,” he tweeted. “I will follow up shortly. Ok with you? All best, Edward.”
