Oscar’s Best Actress controversy

An unexpected Oscar nomination had the Academy (and movie fans) discussing its validity.

Transcript

00:00The Academy Awards are still more than a month away, but there's already drama. Andrea Riseborough

00:04surprised many when she received a Best Actress nomination for To Leslie, a movie that brought

00:09in just $27,000 at the box office. The unexpected nod even garnered the attention of Academy

00:14officials who investigated the situation to see if Riseborough's nomination should be reversed.

00:18Ultimately, they chose to stand by it. The small independent drama previously hadn't received much

00:23buzz. That was until a handful of celebrities began voicing their support for the quote small

00:27film with a giant heart and Riseborough's performance. Much of the talent outreach

00:31for Riseborough's grassroots-esque campaign was largely attributed to director Michael Morris'

00:35wife, Mary McCormick. Since December, McCormick had been reaching out to actors, including those

00:40in the Academy's Actors Branch, enthusiastically inviting them to private screenings. This

00:44potentially could have violated an Academy rule against contacting voters directly and encouraging

00:49promotion via private events. Some also believe that Riseborough's nomination took the place of

00:53two Black actresses who were considered frontrunners, Viola Davis and Danielle Deadweiler.