Judge orders trial for man accused of stealing Frances McDormand's best actress Oscar

Oscars: Frances McDormand won the trophy for her part in Three Billboards
ABACA/PA Images
Chloe Chaplain25 July 2018

An LA judge has ordered the man accused of stealing Frances McDormand's best actress Oscar trophy to stand trial for theft.

Superior Court Judge Mark Hanasono said Wednesday that 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.

Accused: Terry Bryant appears during a hearing in Los Angeles
AP

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."

Bryant told Mr Tio he had won the statuette for best producer on "Get Out," which Tio said he immediately knew wasn't an award.

He then said he was holding it for a friend, Mr 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.

His attorney, Daniel Brookman, argued in court that Bryant didn't try to hide that he had McDormand's Oscar, and the charge should be dismissed.

"There was never any intent to deprive the owner of the property on a permanent basis," Brookman said.

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