‘Avatar’ and ‘Lincoln’ Production Designer Gets Oscars Replaced After Losing Them in L.A. Wildfires (2025)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has replaced legendary production designer Rick Carter’s two Oscars after they were lost in the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.

Carter, who won two Academy Awards for his work on 2009’s Avatar and 2012’s Lincoln, was among thousands whose homes were destroyed when wildfires ripped through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January.

On Monday, the Academy shared on its official Instagram account that CEO Bill Kramer presented Carter with his new statuettes. “Today we had the honor of replacing the Oscars that legendary production designer Rick Carter won for AVATAR and LINCOLN — awards he lost when the LA fires destroyed his home earlier this year,” the caption read.

“Presented by Academy CEO Bill Kramer, these new statuettes stand in for more than what was lost. They honor a visionary whose work has defined the visual language of modern film — from the Americana of FORREST GUMP to the sweeping intimacy of THE FABELMANS,” the post continued. “Rick doesn’t just design sets — he builds worlds we return to again and again.”

In a video shared on the Academy’s Instagram Story, Carter shared how special the moment meant to him: “I love my Oscars — in any form. This is really something, and having experienced them gone … I haven’t felt something like this since the fire because I couldn’t allow myself to.”

He added, “This is pretty special. I mean, more than pretty special.”

In addition to Avatar and Lincoln, Carter has also worked as a production designer on Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, The Polar Express, Munich, Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker and The Fabelmans, among other films. He won his first Oscar for Avatar in 2010 for best achievement in art direction and his second for Lincoln in 2013 for best achievement in production design.