Hollywood Oscar Campaign Narrative by Publicist Peggy Siegal

Tne GIory Of Golo Uber publicist Peggy Siegal has been attending the Academy Awards for three decades—not to mention the oodles of parties and sensational events leading up to the ceremony—and chronicling her escapades with stars and star-makers for AVENUE has become a tradition. This year, she sets the stage for the big night with the behind- the-scenes scoop on the fierce competition that ends when Oscar is presented. Here, she reports on the Hollywood glamour, excitement and social shenanigans, including celebrating with Colin Firth, Jesse Eisenberg, Elton John, Oprah Winfrey and many more. photographs by PATRICK MCMULLAN 64 | AVENUE MAGAZINE - APRIL 2011 addafi is hunkering down in Tripoli, giving press interviews, denying that rebels are taking over Eastern Libya. Oil prices are shooting up over one hundred dollars a barrel. The U.S. government is on the verge of a shutdown. These are not the top- secret opening lines of Aaron Sorkin’s new script, but the global headlines of a world spinning out of control as I head to Los Angeles like an overdressed lemming to attend the 83rd Academy Awards and attempt to make sense of artists thrust into combat. For the second year, nearly 6,000 Academy members have nominated 10 films and the battle seems to be pared down to 2. The beloved instant classic, The King’s Speech, marches into the arena as the frontrunner, but passionate supporters of the edgier (critics’ darling) The Social Network have not conceded. The ballots are counted, the party invites are out and still the feelings are raw. Nominees are exhausted from campaigning. Woody Allen and George Lucas tell me they are no longer members of the Academy because pitting artists against each other to determine the quality of their work is insane. They are right. My event and publicity company is considered Switzerland by the studios, as we help every filmmaker to present his work. However, this year, against my better judgment, Iam somewhat emotionally sucked in. In 2005, I met the unknown 32-year-old English director Tom Hooper on his first film for HBO, Elizabeth I starring Helen Mirren. Helen later wins an Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth in The Queen. Queen Elizabeth is the daughter of King George VI, portrayed by Oscar-winner Colin Firth in The King’s Speech directed by Hooper. No degrees of separation. At the Telluride Film Festival, Tom Hooper bathed in the glory of a hysterical standing ovation alongside Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush at the very first public screening of that film. Two weeks later at The Toronto Film Festival, Harvey Weinstein stood with his filmmakers witnessing the same reaction. The film won The Audience Prize. Their strategy was to say nothing, do nothing. They have a possible Oscar winner—four out of five past Best Pictures have premiered in Toronto. Cut to New York City at the end of September. It’s opening night at The Film Society of Lincoln Center. One of America’s most important and prolific producers, Scott Rudin, along with Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Aaron Sorkin, are in a brightly lit box waving down to their equally hysterical audience who have just seen The Social Network. The film opens the next day to rave reviews and endless publicity. David Fincher is off making The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Aaron Sorkin becomes the face of the film and an immediate shoo-in for the adapted screenplay Oscar. The Hamptons International Film Festival in October suddenly becomes a launching pad for 127 Hours, where star-cum-Yale/NYU student James Franco appears. More Oscar buzz. Producer/director Danny Boyle (Oscar winner for Slumdog Millionaire) stays in London all fall directing the play Frankenstein. Black Swan also unspools there in a tiny theater as Madonna, Alec Baldwin and Harvey Weinstein slip in the back. Darren Aronofsky is hailed a genius. Natalie Portman is instantly the hot nominee for Best Actress. Both films are sen- sations, but it’s The King’s Speech that wins The Audience Prize. Mid-November: David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg sneak The Fighter in Manhattan. As their audience erupts in cheers, I tell producer/actor Wahlberg, “Clint Eastwood is going to kill himself for not directing this.” He says, “Youre wrong. He turned it down because he’s done it. He’s seen it and he loves it.” David O. Russell becomes my new Clint Eastwood. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo are hailed the supporting actors to beat. True Grit, directed by the Coen Brothers and also produced by Scott Rudin, finally throws its cowboy hat in the ring in mid-December at the Ziegfeld as the last serious Oscar contender for Best Picture. It gallops off to box office gold. The Social Network now cements its battle cry with one word: relevance. Mark Zuckerberg lands on the cover of Time Magazine as “Person of the Year.” A smart and extensive ad campaign positions the film in the lead. Critics and pundits proclaim the race is over. Everyone goes on holiday. This is one of the few times in Harvey Weinstein’s life that he’s caught off guard. He quickly mobilizes an inner team of 15 and conducts strategy meetings 7 days a week, including Christmas. They’re like a Chinese restaurant: always open. He sends screenwriter David Seidler and Tom Hooper to every corner of the country doing Q&As until they are both blue in the face from “finding their voice.” SAG voters begin seeing the film two and three times. In January at the Golden Globes, about 88 foreign journalists give awards to The Social Network for Best Drama, Director and Screenplay. The film is still perceived as the Oscar winner and nobody can stop the steamroller. Only Academy voters disregard these awards. The King’s Speech wins the PGA in L.A. Everyone is totally surprised when Tom Hooper goes on to win the DGA. After a tremendous amount of hard work by team Weinstein, the actors win for the SAG Ensemble. The BAFTAs reinforced their lead; the film is now the frontrunner. It takes the media a few weeks to catch on. | ix \ Graydon and Anna i Scott Carter | / “ihe! a * Sandra Bullock Tom Hooper Carolina — Herrera Collin Firth and Anne Hathaway ~ HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_012700