The 7 Best Oscar Campaigns This Year
12:50 pm, February 21st | by Meredith Lepore
Scott Feinberg , lead awards blogger for The Hollywood Reporter . “For the most part you have to go out there and do the work now. It doesn’t matter who you are.” Earning an Academy Award nomination is kind of like running for President. You establish your platform (the movie), December through mid-January is all about promoting the hell out of it and in the second half of January and February you rack up the awards but you are still campaigning. Every appearance and speech is another opportunity to show why you should win the Oscar. That’s a lot of work for a gold statue! We took a look at the best Oscar campaigns of 2013.
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1. Jessica Chastain
The "Feminist Energizer Bunny" campaign
I am not sure if Jessica Chastain has slept since November. In addition to showing up for every press call, awards show and interview, Jessica has also been starring in "The Heiress" on Broadway.
She is also playing up her feminist credentials brilliantly. She is constantly talking about what a rarity it to see this kind of female character on screen and singing the praises of her amazing director, Kathryn Bigelow. Plus, when she was called out for allegedly hating Jennifer Lawrence, she made a point to say that the media comes down too hard on women. She wrote on Facebook: "“I find it very sad that media makes up bogus stories about women fighting in this industry. Filming The Help was the most amazing experience and yet, that is the film I’m most asked about in regards to ‘fighting on set.’ Why do we support the myth that women are competitive and cannot get along?
"I think all of the actresses recognized this year have given incredible performances. But more important, they’ve all shown themselves to be filled with generosity and kindness. I’ve done two photo shoots with Jennifer Lawrence over the years and have found her to be utterly charming and a great talent. I’ve told her how beautiful her film work is."
Watch out Hillary Clinton.
2. Anne Hathaway
The "I know I am going to win so I am pretending to be humble except it is coming off as really fake" campaign
Though Anne has racked up every award for her performance in "Les Miserables," her popularity has plummeted. Her speeches seem rehearsed and when she talked about having to fight for roles after "The Princess Diaries" I wanted to stick a pen in my eye. Bryan Moylan of Hollywood.com even posited that Anne has become the fourth thing you should never bring up in conversation (religion, politics and money are the other three).
"She's got this theater kid thing where she adopts the mood of every situation she's in — rude and bawdy on Chelsea Lately, poised and 'classy' at the Oscars, etc — but wildly overcompensates every time," says Richard Lawson of The Atlantic Wire told Hollywood.com. "She always seems like she's performing, and her favorite act is this overstated humility and graciousness. I've known theater kids my whole life. I was a theater kid my whole life. She is the epitome of the bad kind of theater kid."
We like actors, but we don't really care for theater kids. However, Anne is almost definitely going to win, so get ready for another speech that she will pretend to not have memorized.
3. Quvenzhane Wallis
"The "I'm friggin adorable and I've got pizzazz and I'm only 9, b*tches" campaign"
She probably won't win, but Quvenzhane Wallis' career has been set on fire. This girl has it all — talent, adorable looks and she can hold her own in an interview. She has handled all the press beautifully without straying into annoying child actor territory,
Anne Hathaway . Plus, she stars in
Beasts of the Southern Wild, the underdog of the year.
4. Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts, The "Quietly Graceful" campaign
Naomi exudes composure and grace. She has been getting great roles for years and her work in
The Impossible is incredible. She is attending every event (even though she likely isn't going to win) which will also keep her in the good graces of the Academy community.
5. Jennifer Lawrence
The "I'm friggin' awesome and have a sense of humor" campaign
Jennifer Lawrence is the Rooney Mara of this year. They both starred in huge films that really put them on the map, and are young enough to be ingenues but not so young that they seem like novelty nominations.
However, unlike Rooney, Jennifer doesn't look like she wants to die all the time. She has a sense of humor and is refreshingly honest. The "I beat Meryl" line in her Golden Globes acceptance speech got some flack, but only if people had never seen The First Wives Club !
The Academy loves it when an actress is having "a moment" and with The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook she certainly is. But she still manages to convey a laid back attitude, which is refreshing and charming in such a serious environment.
6. Amy Adams
The "I'm not going anywhere" campaign
Amy is quietly becoming the next Meryl Streep, but no one has really noticed (plus she hasn't actually won yet). So actually, she is more like the Susan Lucci of The Oscars.
The Master earned her her fourth Oscar nomination. Again, she probably won't win but she is clearly an Academy favorite, so it's only a matter of time.
7. Ben Affleck
The "I will have the last laugh" campaign
Ben Affleck is doing the best thing a person who was snubbed can do: win every other award and hold your head up high.
Argo is most likely going to win Best Picture, which means Ben will walk home with an Oscar that night. Take that, haters.
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“In this day and age, you don’t wake up and win an Oscar,” says Scott Feinberg, lead awards blogger for The Hollywood Reporter. “For the most part you have to go out there and do the work now. It doesn’t matter who you are.” Earning an Academy Award nomination is kind of like running for President. You establish your platform (the movie), December through mid-January is all about promoting the hell out of it and in the second half of January and February you rack up the awards but you are still campaigning. Every appearance and speech is another opportunity to show why you should win the Oscar. That’s a lot of work for a gold statue! We took a look at the best Oscar campaigns of 2013.
