No punitive action will be taken by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) against best actress Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough or those who lobbied for her to receive recognition for her portrayal of an alcoholic in To Leslie, the organization announced Tuesday.
“The Academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a statement. He later added, “However, we did discover social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern. These tactics are being addressed with the responsible parties directly.”
Few Academy members except those who are part of its actors branch had ever even heard of the film for which the 41-year-old Brit was singled out. After premiering at last year’s SXSW film festival, To Leslie garnered raves for its leading lady but sold to a U.S. distributor, Momentum, which lacked the resources to give it much of a theatrical release (it grossed just $27,322 prior to Riseborough’s nomination) or awards push.
But, come nominations morning, that didn’t matter, because the Academy’s actors branch alone determines the acting Oscar nominees, and they had been lobbied hard by Riseborough champions — including To Leslie’s director, Michael Morris; Morris’ wife, the actress Mary McCormack; Riseborough’s manager and publicists; and a number of their famous friends and acquaintances who are actors — to watch and consider publicly endorsing the film.
Among those who did indeed praise Riseborough’s work on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram were Susan Sarandon, Helen Hunt, Zooey Deschanel, Mira Sorvino, Constance Zimmer, Rosie O’Donnell, Alan Cumming and Riseborough’s Birdman co-star Edward Norton. (Norton tweeted that Riseborough’s performance “just knocked me sideways.”) And Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Minnie Driver, Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Adams and Kate Winslet all hosted events — some in-person, others virtual — for the actress. (Winslet, at her gathering, declared, “I think this is the greatest female performance onscreen I have ever seen in my life.”)
Kramer, in his statement, indicated that Academy regulations pertaining to social media activity will be tightened in the future: “Given this review, it is apparent that components of the regulations must be clarified to help create a better framework for respectful, inclusive, and unbiased campaigning. These changes will be made after this awards cycle and will be shared with our membership.”
Kramer’s full statement appears below.
Based on concerns that surfaced last week around the TO LESLIE awards campaign, the Academy began a review into the film’s campaigning tactics. The Academy has determined the activity in question does not rise to the level that the film’s nomination should be rescinded. However, we did discover social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern. These tactics are being addressed with the responsible parties directly.
