“To Leslie” Nod urges Academy to review Oscar campaign procedures

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is officially taking a closer look at the Oscar campaigns for this year’s nominees after growing backlash surrounding the viral grassroots organization that awarded ‘To Leslie’ star Andrea Riseborough a surprise nomination brought in for best actress.

While it has appeared so far that the campaign team behind the release of Momentum Pictures, which stars the British actress as a jaded lottery winner trying to rebuild her life, didn’t break any campaign guidelines themselves, some of the tactics they employed, such as direct emails to Academy members suggesting they help lobby for the film are frowned upon.

There is also a perception that Riseborough’s entry into the category will be barred from the Oscar race at the expense of two black actresses from critically acclaimed films directed by black women: Viola Davis (‘The Woman King’) and Danielle Deadwyler (‘Up Both actresses and their films have been running more traditional Oscar campaigns in recent months.

“It is the Academy’s goal to ensure that the awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner, and we are committed to ensuring an inclusive awards process,” the Academy said in an official statement, nodding to its ongoing diversity efforts zu After the #OscarsSoWhite scandal that ravaged the 2015 and 2016 acting nominations.

Alluding to the way certain parties have evangelized for “To Leslie” through platforms like Instagram, as first reported by Puck News, the Academy’s statement said: “We are conducting a review of the campaign processes surrounding this year’s nominees to ensure that no policies were violated and to let us know if policy changes may be required in a new era of social media and digital communications.”

For now, the only possible Academy Rules violation comes from actress Frances Fisher, who suggested on Instagram that other voters would put Riseborough first in their best actress polls, as Davis and Deadwyler, alongside Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blachett, “a are castle”. who were eventually nominated for their work on Everything Everywhere All at Once and TÁR, respectively.

One could argue that the move violates the rule that prohibits anyone associated with an eligible film from promoting “the competition” by name or title in a campaign post. The question, however, is to what extent Fisher will be associated with the “To Leslie” awards campaign.

Ultimately, it doesn’t look like the inquiry will produce a dramatic change in the Best Actress nominees, like it’ll force Oscar voters to recount, but Riseborough’s successful nominations campaign is a reminder for the academy to review how their social media rules apply to media posts. An Instagram post by Academy President Janet Yang praising Yeoh’s performance in the A24 hit recently caused a stir among voters until the leader quickly deleted it, making this type of topic a topic even before the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations in the foreground.

With an Academy Board of Governors meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the organization ends its statement on an upbeat note, “We have faith in the integrity of our nominating and voting processes and support genuine grassroots campaigns for excellence.”

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