From bathrooms to museums: odd sets for Oscar statuettes

[February 25, 2014]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — The most valuable piece of hardware in Hollywood is the 13-and-a-half-inch (34-cm) golden Oscar statuette, so it is no surprise recipients of the top film honors keep theirs in a variety of safe spots.

Emma Thompson, a two-time winner for "Howards End" and "Sense and Sensibility," has stowed her Oscars in the bathroom, or rather loo, of her London abode.

"It's full of my most precious possessions," Thompson said. "So it's not as if I'm being rude. It's an important place to me. And the downstairs loo is sort of the place that all your guests use. And it's nice for them to have a go, pick them up."

Cate Blanchett, a frontrunner for best actress for her role in "Blue Jasmine" for this Sunday's Academy Awards, has to pay to see her Oscar from "The Aviator."

"My Oscar is in a film museum called ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) in Melbourne," the 44-year-old star said. "I get to pay a ticket and go see it every now and again."

Winners of the 2,809 Oscars awarded so far may opt for the more mundane living room, like Charlize Theron for her "Monster" Oscar, or the office, the home for George Clooney's two awards for "Argo" and "Michael Clayton."

But Jennifer Hudson created an award wall and put her statuette for "Dreamgirls" in a starring role.

"It's actually a hidden wall," said Hudson. "You don't realize it's a wall and it goes into my futuristic office, this is the truth, and it sits there in the middle of all the other awards and goes, ahhhh!"

Sandra Bullock has entrusted her "The Blind Side" best actress trophy to a confidant: her young son, Louis.

"I'll let him tell you if he wants to tell you, but it's his and he knows where it is," she said.

(Reporting by Robert Mezan; writing by Will Robinson; editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa Shumaker)

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