The ongoing scandal surrounding a Hurt Locker producer and his ill-advised Oscar rallying cry has all of Hollywood on edge today. Fear, paranoia and loathing have gripped fellow nominees and Academy leadership in particular, with emergency meetings and various disciplinary measures dominating a period that should be marked by joy, celebration and unintelligible Adam Shankman tweets about the progress of his So You Think You Can Dance alums on the biggest stage of their lives. And now... this: Best Actor front-runner Jeff Bridges is said to have ordered two cases of high-end cigars in advance of the March 7 ceremony. Awfully confident there, aren't we? Does he know something the rest of us don't?
OK, probably not. Everyone loves Bridges (especially Movieline), and if anyone runs a tighter-than-tight Oscar ship, it's Crazy Heart distributor Fox Searchlight. Nevertheless, to their likely consternation, another shameless, poorly timed publicity e-mail from the awards-season front lines has slid over the transom at ML HQ, teasing a luxury cigar brand as part "how [Bridges] plans to celebrate":
Feeling more confident about his chances at an Oscar, Jeff Bridges ordered two cases of Gurkha "Triad" Cigars on Wednesday, February 24th. Guess we know how he plans to celebrate!
Sold at $50 a pop and $1,000 for a case of 20, the Gurkha "Triad" Cigar is the smooth and rich. A gorgeous 10 Year Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper that just shines with excellence accompanied by a 7 year Dominican Binder and a 7 year Nicaraguan/ Honduran filler makes this cigar more prestigious than the usual cubans.
Not sure about that, but at least they're legal. The flacks even passed along the accompanying picture, because nothing says "quality" like "let's exploit an presumptive Oscar winner at a time when every last gift, purchase, correspondence and/or appearance is under scrutiny by a weary Academy culture." If Harvey Weinstein had a horse in the Best Actor race, it would be so on right now.