And the award for best April Fools' Day prank of 2023 goes to ... Sarah Polley's 11-year-old?
The writer and director, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar this year for Women Talking, shared on Twitter that her child pranked her on April Fools' Day by giving her a fake letter from former Academy president David Rubin claiming her award was given out by mistake and that she must return it, à la the infamous Moonlight and La La Land mix-up of 2017.
"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," the letter claimed.
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It continued with the fake Rubin admitting that he realized this mistake on the night of the Oscars, but "we did not want another 'Year of the Moonlight,' and we also did not want it to get all over your local news, as the citizens of Toronto would probably be quite irritated, and we do not want this news getting out." Polley's child even accounted for the fact that she would be receiving the news on April Fools' Day, with the letter assuring her that "this is much too cruel to be a joke."
"My eleven-year-old swung low for April Fools Day this year," Polley tweeted.
Fans were simultaneously horrified and impressed, and even the director and co-writer of All Quiet on the Western Front got in on the fun. "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," Edward Berger replied. "I will follow up shortly. Ok with you?"
Ted Lasso star and writer Brett Goldstein, meanwhile, joked that he "would accept this as a writing sample." Look out for future Oscar wins from the children of Sarah Polley and Sofia Coppola at the 2043 Academy Awards.
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