Leonardo DiCaprio Steven Spielberg Movies The Wizard of Oz Hollywood Auctions
Leonardo DiCaprio may have returned back to Hollywood from his Great Gatsby assignment in Sydney, Australia, but it hasn't slowed down Leo's pet projects... of the festish like nature.
No, not a fetish for the world's hottest models...Australian, American or otherwise, but of the foot fetish kind - Wizard Of Oz slippers no less.
Judy Garland's sexy ruby red slippers from The Wizard Of Oz have found their way back home.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it has acquired one of the four known surviving pairs of the iconic shoes made for the classic 1939 movie, with the help of Hollywood high fliers Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg.
The shoes, regarded as one of the world's best-known film props, are understood to have been worn by Garland's character Dorothy when she clicked her heels three times to return to Kansas from the fantasy land of Oz near the conclusion of the famous movie.
The slippers were previously due to be sold by Los Angeles auction house Profiles in History in December, with an estimated price tag of $US2-3 million. But they did not sell at that time.
Some Hollywood collectibles get their price talked up in an unrealistic fashion, while some can be purchased cheaper than expected.
The Academy, which organises the annual Oscars ceremony, advised DiCaprio and Spielberg headed a group of "angel donors" to purchase the shoes for a planned museum.
Academy officials politicly declined to say how much was paid.
A pair of red test slippers for The Wizard Of Oz from the collection of actress Debbie Reynolds sold for $US612,000 in May 2011.
"Leo's passionate leadership has helped us bring home this legendary piece of movie history," Academy chief executive officer Dawn Hudson said.
"It's a wonderful gift to the Academy museum project, and a perfect representation of the work we do year-round to preserve and share our film heritage."
A Media Man agency spokesperson said "Leo and Steven must really love their shoes. Only they know for sure in they share a foot fetish of sorts, or if it is just a mutual appreciation of Hollywood's rich history. Hat's off to the Hollywood heavyweights who were in the financial position to get the props back to their original home. I'm sure Australia will remind Leo of his good deed when he does the red carpet in Australia later this year".
The shoes, marked "#7 Judy Garland", are said to be the most pristine of the four pairs of slippers known to exist.
One pair is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, one is in private hands and another was stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota.
The Academy and the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts announced plans in October to establish a museum to display movie-related treasures.
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