In the United States, craftsmen have begun working round the clock to make 55 statuettes for the Oscar ceremony after the original batch was stolen. Workmen at the Chicago based company, R S Owens, which produces the trophies, have been given seven days to deliver the gold plated Oscars in time for the ceremony next weekend. This year's statuettes were stolen from a transportation company loading dock in the industrial city of Bell, just south of Los Angeles.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that it has assigned one of its leading art theft experts to the case. A reward equivalent to £40,000 has been offered for the safe return of the Oscars.
