Oscar Campaign Narratives and Celebrity Anecdotes

David O. Russell > _-- and Spike Jones 3 ar Peggy Siegal and Catherine Martin his was the year absolutely no one could predict Best Picture for the 86th Academy Awards: not even me, the Oscar witch. This made directors Steve McQueen, Alfonso Cuaron and David O. Russell very crazy. After months of screenings, press conferences, lunches, and parties, publicists and bloggers had to look these three wise men in the eye and say, “We don’t have a clue.’ Then came the slogan, “It’s time.” That was Fox Searchlight’s last suggestion on 12 Years a Slave advertisements that subliminally registered in the hearts and minds of voters in the closing days of the studio's low-key campaign. “It’s time.” So simple. Says it all. Just like the mantra “Find your voice” that marketing honcho Harvey Weinstein came up with three years ago, which drove The King’s Speech toa win. This is how you win an Oscar. You pinpoint and connect an exact emotion on the screen to an exact emotion that moves 6,000 voters who are mostly very smart white middle-aged guys. On Oscar night, host Ellen DeGeneres joked to 43 million viewers, “Possibility number one: 12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture. Possibility number two: You're all racists,’ answering the question three hours before the win was announced. DeGeneres then gifted sponsor 54 | AVENUE MAGAZINE « APRIL 2012 Samsung with the world’s most famous selfie and tipped a pizza delivery guy $1,000. The gripping 12 Years a Slave won Best Picture, putting Steve McQueen in the history books as the first black director, who is also British, to win an Oscar. It took the star power of white heartthrob Brad Pitt to get the film financed. Taking the small but heroic role as the slave’s savior, Brad then took a backseat by shooting WWII film, Fury in England, leaving the promotion to others. Steve McQueen’s muse Michael Fassbender, who portrayed a sadistic plantation owner, announced he would not campaign. McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and an unknown supporting actress, Lupita Nyong’o, were left with the herculean task of selling a film about slavery that was guaranteed to embarrass every American. This is why their win was so poignant. Warner Bros? wildly popular Gravity had Suki Waterhouse and Bradley Cooper skyrocketed to $1 billion globally at the box office. This technical game changer propelled Sandra Bullock into outer space with $70 million of backend profits tucked into her space panties. The beloved thriller landed triumphantly with seven Oscars. Alfonso Cuarén, who slaved for four years to create his masterpiece, won two statues for directing and editing and became the first Latino director to win. Although Gravity’s producer David Heyman did not strike gold, this film was one hell of a second act after producing all those Harry Potter films. In the past four years, David O. Russell has been a serious contender with 25 total nominations for his last three films. Hilarious and astute American Hustle garnered 10 nominations, but no wins this year. The four acting categories were easy to predict. Cate Blanchett wowed the minute Blue Jasmine was released in July. This instantaneous phenomenon is known as the “Colin-Firth-Daniel-Day-Lewis slam dunk” In November, beautiful darling Jared Leto stole everybody's hearts dressed as a woman in Dallas Buyers Club. His long hair, penchant for 90s grunge, and rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, made him another instant winner. Matthew McConaughey’s career renaissance became “McConaissance.” Mud, Dallas Buyer’s Club, Wolf of Wall Street, and finally HBO's HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_010717 © COPYRIGHT 2013 STARTRAKSPHOTO.COM AND BFANYC.COM