Man accused of stealing McDormand’s Oscar ordered to trial in August
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles judge ordered a man accused of stealing Frances McDormand’s best actress Oscar statuette to stand trial on a felony grand theft charge.
Superior Court Judge Mark Hanasono said Wednesday there was sufficient evidence for Terry Bryant to stand trial.
The ruling came after a hearing in which a worker with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences testified about taking the Oscar away from Bryant as he tried to leave the ceremony’s official after-party.
“God is on my side,” Bryant was heard saying in court after the ruling. Bryant is due to be arraigned Aug. 8.
McDormand won the award for best actress in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and lost the statuette after having it engraved at the ceremony’s Governors Ball.
Cesario Tio, a film academy worker who was escorting a photographer taking pictures at the ball, said he heard on a walkie-talkie that McDormand’s Oscar was missing. He said he later saw a man, who he identified in court as Bryant, walk out of the ball holding a statuette and yelling “We did it! We did it.”
Tio said neither he nor the photographer recognized the man. The photographer took a picture of Bryant, who told them his statuette was won for best producer on “Get Out,” which Tio said he immediately knew wasn’t an award.
A blown up image from the photographer’s camera showed a portion of McDormand’s name. Tio said he then grabbed the statuette from Bryant.
“He said, ‘Hey, I’m holding that for a friend,’” Tio testified. He said Bryant followed him back into the Governors Ball, where Tio handed the statuette off to security and he didn’t see Bryant again.
Bryant, 47, and his attorney declined comment after the hearing. He remains released on his own recognizance.