First, there was the word-of-mouth marketing campaign selling Andrea Riseborough’s efficiency within the indie movie To Leslie. Then, got here Riseborough’s stunning Oscar nomination for Greatest Actress. Then, the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) introduced a overview of the nomination course of, which might have resulted in a revoked nomination for Riseborough. Nicely, in any case that hullabaloo, the outcomes are in: Riseborough stays an Oscar nominee.
An underdog in award season, To Leslie is a lesser-known drama that made $27,000 in theaters and didn’t have a aggressive finances for a For Your Consideration marketing campaign. Riseborough’s nomination got here after a week-long social media blitz, through which her efficiency was lauded by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, and plenty of extra.
Listed below are the 2023 Oscar nominations
To Leslie’s strategy to securing an Oscar nomination ruffled feathers, however there’s extra to the controversy than annoyance at a grassroots marketing campaign. Riseborough, who’s white, obtained a nomination over Black actors like The Girl King‘s Viola Davis and Until‘s Danielle Deadwyler, each of whom had been thought of contenders within the Oscars dialog. Whereas some have seen To Leslie’s nomination as a victory for small-budget movies, others have pointed that even high-profile movies with extra assets for an awards marketing campaign is perhaps snubbed due to how the awards ecosystem fails Black ladies(Opens in a brand new window) time and time once more.
On Jan. 27, within the wake of the nominations backlash, the Academy introduced it will be reviewing the nomination course of. Their assertion talked about neither Riseborough nor To Leslie. Nonetheless, given the controversial nature of Riseborough’s marketing campaign, it appeared clear the overview involved her nomination.
The overview garnered much more backlash, with actors like Christina Ricci sharing on social media (Opens in a brand new window)that it felt “elitist and unique and admittedly very backward.” Comic (and Riseborough’s To Leslie co-star) Marc Maron additionally criticized the Academy’s resolution on his WTF podcast.(Opens in a brand new window)
The Academy’s resolution got here down in a Jan. 31 assertion despatched to media from AMPAS CEO Invoice Kramer, who mentioned: “The Academy has decided the exercise in query doesn’t rise to the extent that the movie’s nomination must be rescinded.” The assertion does proceed to say that To Leslie‘s social media ways had been trigger for concern and are being introduced up with the accountable events.
Kramer’s full assertion on the matter is as follows:
Primarily based on issues that surfaced final week across the To Leslie awards marketing campaign, the Academy started a overview into the movie’s campaigning ways. The Academy has decided the exercise in query doesn’t rise to the extent that the movie’s nomination must be rescinded. Nonetheless, we did uncover social media and outreach campaigning ways that induced concern. These ways are being addressed with the accountable events immediately.
The aim of the Academy’s marketing campaign laws is to make sure a good and moral awards course of—these are core values of the Academy. Given this overview, it’s obvious that parts of the laws should be clarified to assist create a greater framework for respectful, inclusive, and unbiased campaigning. These modifications shall be made after this awards cycle and shall be shared with our membership. The Academy strives to create an atmosphere the place votes are based mostly solely on the inventive and technical deserves of the eligible movies and achievements.
Thus ends the contentious To Leslie saga — at the very least till the Oscars air on March 12. If Riseborough pulls off an underdog victory, it’ll little question be probably the most stunning (and sure, discourse-inducing) Oscar wins of all time.
