by Wali Warsame
Section Editor
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Course.
There is an extensive history to the cutthroat process of Oscar campaigning. For many actors and actresses, being nominated, and especially winning, can be a defining moment in their career.
Hollywood has witnessed countless over-the-top campaigning over the decades, such as John Wayne’s $75,000 investment into ads directed towards Academy voters for “The Alamo” and Sally Kirkland promoting herself to every journalist at every event she was invited to in addition to hiring press agents and purchasing trade ads for her film “Anna”.
However, changes were made in 2023 to the regulations and limitations on how candidates, publicists, and other industry professionals go about campaigning for both nominations and wins. In 2023, the Academy had introduced new rules regarding campaigns through social media, communication, and public forums.
Although many of these changes affect how actors and filmmakers campaign for nominations, rules such as the cutbacks on the number of hosted screenings for each film also affect campaigning for an Oscar win. Motion picture studios and companies have been prohibited from funding, organizing, or endorsing such events as well. All additional rules and regulations can be viewed on The Academy Award website.
BAFTA
Outside of hosting screenings, running ads, and conducting high-profile interviews, the award shows that take place during the road to the Oscars are also part of this story. The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) for instance, has a record of predicting Oscar success. On Feb. 18, “Oppenheimer” had made an honorable impression by receiving 7 awards. Writer Tom Shone stated that “the front-runner is the front-runner for a reason” when referring to “Oppenheimer's” sweep at BAFTA in The Times of London.
“Poor Things” had placed second in the amount of awards taken home with a total of 4. Emma Stone, who plays Bella Baxter, the lead character in the film, was awarded Best Actress. With her winning streak from the Critics Choice Awards (CCA) and the Golden Globes, her chances of winning Actress In A Leading Role looks more promising.
In her speech at BAFTA, she thanked her mother, director Yorgos Lanthimos, the cast and crew, and her dialect coach. She also humorously thanked the writer Tony for the line “I must go punch that baby” in the film, as “it was life changing” for her.
SAGA
At the 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGA) on Saturday, Feb. 24, “Oppenheimer” took home 3 of its 4 nominations, once again emphasizing its position as the front-runner at the Oscars. The cast had accepted an award for an Outstanding Performance while Cillian Murphy was awarded for his leading role in the film and Robert Downey Jr. received an award for his supporting role. “Oppenheimer” also secured the Best Film award at the Producers Guild Awards (PGA) the night after.
“The Holdovers”, which was released in Oct. of 2023, has gained significant recognition since the start of the award season. Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays Mary Lamb, was awarded for her performance as a supporting actress in the film at the SAG Awards.
In her heartfelt speech that brought fellow nominees to tears, she gave hope to aspiring actors, saying that “your life can change in a day and it’s not a question of if but when, keep going.”
Although she has made it clear that she is an excellent candidate for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars after her consecutive wins at the SAG Awards and Independent Spirit Awards, she remains humble. When addressing the reporters at the Independent Spirit Awards, she shared that she is “just happy to be invited into the building” and feels as if she has “already won,” IndieWire reports.
"Barbie"
Presumably because of Barbie’s so-called ‘snub’ from certain Oscar nominations, many other films have overshadowed Barbie this award season. At BAFTA, “Barbie” lost all 5 nominations, at SAGA, “Barbie" was nominated for 4 awards, also losing all nominations. Although “Barbie" has taken an unexpected turn at these Oscar-defining award ceremonies, the cast has received awards from shows such as the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, Peoples Choice, and more.
What films like “Barbie” can teach us is that we all have our predictions, but anything can happen at the Oscars. Even the record-breaking films of the summer are at the edge of their seats, hoping The Academy comes through.
The 96th annual Academy Awards will commence March 10, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. ET.