The distribution of the Oscars this year will not be without scandals.
And while last year Will Smith marred the ceremony, now the arguments started just 4 days after the nominations, and one of them is about to fly out of the competition.
Entangled in a scandalous story is the contender for the “Best Actress” category – the actress Andrea Riseborough from the little-known film “Leslie”.
The nomination of the 41-year-old British woman came as a surprise, and then it turned out to be the work of the enterprising creators of the film, who, however, crossed the line of the competition rules.
They sent hundreds of messages and emails daily to members of the Academy, as well as influential stars, asking them to watch the film and support Andrea. The fact is that it worked: Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and others publicly gave their high marks to the film, and the main character received a nomination from 218 academics who voted for her.
Everything would have been great if the competitors had not pulled out the Oscars’ charter, which says that such use of personal connections and discussion of nominees falls under the article “lobbying” and it falls under the column “strictly prohibited.”
All the fuss came after an investigation by top journalist Mark Belloni, in which he revealed that Riseborough was on the Oscar list thanks to an aggressive campaign by the film’s director, Michael Morris, who personally called the stars. He wanted his film to earn money along with her nomination. Social media also took notice of Riseborough’s unexpected appearance on the Best Actor list, accusing the Academy of racism.
Director James Cameron joined the mass outrage over the neglect of Viola Davis in The Warrior Woman.
The academy found itself in great confusion and announced that it would conduct a special investigation. It also issued a special statement announcing that it would review campaign procedures surrounding this year’s nominees to ensure no rules were broken.
By the way, this is not the first case of revision of nominations. Nine times in the history of the awards, Oscar nominees have been removed. A curious fact is that the first on this list was the great Charlie Chaplin. At the time, organizers feared he would take home the four major statuettes, so they gave him a special “4 in 12” award, removing him from all major nominations.
However, the film “Leslie” cannot be compared to Chaplin’s masterpieces. It has grossed just $27,000 in ticket sales since its release in the month of October. It was filmed during the 2020 pandemic, but was released at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
The story features Andrea Riseborough as a single mother whose life is turned upside down after winning the lottery.
However, whether Andreia will hit the jackpot by getting out of the scandal remains to be seen on Tuesday, when the Academy will have its hard word.
The awards ceremony will take place on March 12 in Los Angeles.
