CNN
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“Women Talking” filmmaker Sarah Polley was pranked by her child on April Fools’ Day and the stunt is as good as Oscar gold.
Polley won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for her film “Women Talking” last month, and posted a photo on Saturday of a hilarious letter she received notifying her of some pressing news related to her statuette.
“We say this to you with the deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake,” the letter began.
It continued to say that she will have one more week “to enjoy its presence” in her home before the statuette needs to be mailed back to Los Angeles where it will be given to the “real” best adapted screenplay winner, the WWI-era movie “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
“My eleven-year-old swung low for April Fools Day this year,” Polley captioned the tweet showcasing the letter.
The letter went on to say the Academy should have told Polley it was a mistake on Oscar night when they realized it, but they didn’t want another “Year of the Moonlight,” a reference to the best picture winner mix-up from the 2017 Oscars.
In a clever twist, the letter also stated “this is much too cruel to be a joke” even though they anticipated Polley receiving it on April Fools’ Day.
“We deeply apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you,” the letter read at the end.
It was even “signed” by David Rubin, the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that puts on the Academy Awards.
The Oscar, which, to be clear, Polley in fact does get to keep, was the first Academy Award win for the filmmaker. “Women Talking” was also nominated for best picture at the 2023 ceremony.
