Sarah Polley fell for a dastardly April Fool's prank which told her to return Oscar.
Sarah Polley was pranked by her 11-year-old into thinking she had to return her Oscar
The screenwriter/director won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film 'Women Talking' at the 2023 ceremony last month, but she was convinced the prize was given in error after she received a letter telling her the Oscar win was a mistake and she needed to hand the trophy back so it could be given to the rightful recipient - however, the note was actually a prank conceived by her 11-year-old child.
She posted a picture of the letter on her Twitter page and wrote: "My eleven-year-old swung low for April Fools Day this year. #AprilFoolsDay."
The note read: "Dear Sarah Polley, we say this to you with the deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake - you must return it. 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 ill give it to the rightful Best Adapted Screenplay: 'All Quiet On The Western Front'."
The prank letter went on to refer to the Oscars controversy at the 2017 ceremony when 'La La Land' was accidentally announced as the Best Picture winner by presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty only for the award to then be given to the rightful winner 'Moonlight' instead.
It added: "We are sorry for your loss, but it is only fair that the play with the real best adapted screenplay gets the Oscar. In hindsight, we should have told you when we realised it, on the night on which the Oscar was given, but you must understand that we did not want another 'Year of the Moonlight'' ... "
After Polley posted the letter on Twitter, Edward Berger - the writer/director behind 'All Quiet on the Western Front' weighed in on the joke - and told her to send the Oscar directly to him.
Berger joked: "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. I will follow up shortly. Ok with you? All best, Edward."
Polley added: "My kid says to tell you that it's already packaged and on its way," and Berger continued the gag by writing: "Thank you. Tracking number please. Would hate for it to get lost."