March 1, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved

HOLLYWOODÕS GREATEST PRIZE
By Elisabeth Ribbans

LONDON, March 1, Graphic News:  HE may stand just thirteen-and-a-half inches (34cms) tall but little Oscar has been HollywoodÕs leading man since 1927. His very appearance on a movieÕs billing can as much as triple box-office receipts -- not to mention the effect on an actorÕs bankability. Small wonder stars fight to bask in his gold-plated glory. The big movie houses employ armies dedicated to ÒcampaigningÓ for Oscars -- the Award of Merit statuettes bestowed by the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Budgets for promoting a single film can reach $2 million.

The first spending spree runs from November to January, as studios jostle for nominations -- placing showy ÒFor Your ConsiderationÓ ads in trade publications such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, organizing screenings and delivering copies of films to the AcademyÕs 5,600 voting members. Meanwhile, actors are shuttled from chat show to magazine cover-shoot and any place in between that might enhance their visibility. Julia Roberts, hoping to garner the Best Actress Oscar for her acclaimed title role in Erin Brockovich, has been notably energetic this year. Most critics expect it to pay off.

But there are limits to lobbying -- far more than might be imagined. The write-in campaign -- such as was staged to recommend Bette DavisÕ performance in Of Human Bondage as long ago as 1934 -- is very much a thing of the past. Indeed, while the Academy acknowledges campaigning as an Òannual riteÓ, it has cracked down severely on Òcrude solicitations and inappropriate attemptsÓ to influence its 5,600 voting members. Its ban on Òsplashy gimmicks and giftsÓ comes in a set of rules laid down in mind-boggling detail. A videotape or DVD sent to a voter -- and beware the studio that dares to send both formats -- must be contained in a Òsimple sleeve or boxÓ with no elaborate design or extra background material. And donÕt even think about calling the voters, says the Academy, Òeven in the guise of checking that a videotape was receivedÓ.

Invitations to screenings must be mailed as standard 8x11 inch (20x28cm) letters or postcards -- no glossy cards, no photographs -- and may never ÒextolÓ the film, make reference to its other honours or contain quotes from critics.

Receptions, dinners and glitzy events to promote a hot film? Only on pain of disqualification. In its bid for fairness, the Academy has gone about as far as it can legally go. Now that nominations have been announced, the second round of promotion can begin with even greater precision. Until mid-March, when final ballot papers are returned for secret tabulation by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the PR machine will be in overdrive. Whether the efforts have paid off will be known only when the envelopes are opened to the world on Oscar night, March 25. But the AcademyÕs efforts to protect OscarÕs dignity do not end there. The awards may have been created as a marketing tool for the movie industry but bragging must be kept within limits. Winning pictures are confined to just one depiction of the Oscar statuette per advertisement, while video and disc boxes must keep the icon to a respectable one inch (2.5cm). A small measure of a big success.
/ENDS