Andrea Riseborough will maintain her controversial Oscar nomination for “To Leslie” although a evaluation of the indie movie’s unorthodox promotional marketing campaign uncovered considerations, the Academy says.
The British star’s finest actress nomination, unveiled final week by Hollywood’s most prestigious awards group, despatched shockwaves by way of the trade.
While her efficiency was lauded by critics, the movie had grossed simply $27,000 on the field workplace, and had not acquired the kind of costly and extremely seen advertising and marketing marketing campaign that’s extensively seen as important for Academy Awards glory.
The film — a few Texas mom who received the lottery however squandered her fortune and descended into alcoholism — as a substitute relied upon an intense, last-minute social media marketing campaign mounted by outstanding celebrities together with Edward Norton, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sarah Paulson.
Debate has raged in Hollywood over whether or not any Academy guidelines in opposition to lobbying or disparaging rivals have been damaged.
“The Academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded,” the Oscar-awarding group mentioned in an announcement Tuesday. “However, we did discover social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern. These tactics are being addressed with the responsible parties directly.”
The Oscars are awarded primarily based on the votes of the 9,500 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Nominations are decided by every Academy department, that means the Oscar nominations for actors together with Riseborough have been voted on by round 1,300 actor members of the group.
It is these members who have been allegedly focused with e-mails and social media posts, encouraging them to vote for Riseborough and ask others to take action.
At least one Instagram put up supporting “To Leslie” recommended that Riseborough’s rivals akin to Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis have been “getting nominated anyway,” so members’ votes may safely be directed elsewhere.
Neither Deadwyler nor Davis — who’re each Black — ended up receiving nominations. No Black stars acquired lead actress nods this 12 months.
“The purpose of the Academy’s campaign regulations is to ensure a fair and ethical awards process — these are core values of the Academy,” mentioned the Academy assertion.
The evaluation made it clear that “components of the regulations must be clarified to help create a better framework for respectful, inclusive, and unbiased campaigning.”
Any modifications is not going to be made till after this 12 months’s Oscars ceremony, which occur on March 12.
“The Academy strives to create an environment where votes are based solely on the artistic and technical merits of the eligible films and achievements,” the assertion concluded.
© 2023 AFP