Little-known Actress Keeps Oscar Nomination

Andrea Riseborough is a respected actress from Britain, but she is not especially famous. She was recently nominated for an Academy Award, or Oscar, for her work in a movie called To Leslie.

Many people wondered how she received the nomination¹ over other actresses. To Leslie only sold $27,000 worth of tickets when it came out in 2022.

It turns out that Riseborough has many famous friends who campaigned for her. Famous actors including Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow put on events where they showed Riseborough's film. The director of To Leslie called Academy Award voters to ask them to support his film.

Other famous actors made posts on social media supporting the movie.

People who follow the Academy Awards wondered if that kind of campaigning was permitted. Bill Kramer is the leader of the organization that gives the awards. He said the group investigated Riseborough's campaign and decided² the nomination should not be taken away.

"However," he said, "we did discover some social media and outreach campaigning tactics that caused concern." Kramer is having discussions about the campaigning methods with the people behind them.

Movie studios promote the movies they think should be considered for the Oscars for many months ahead of voting. But Kramer said the direct communication with voters was concerning.

He said parts of the campaigning rules "must be clarified" and the changes will come after this year's awards. The awards ceremony is on March 12.

Critics said the direct communication with voters is evidence that it is more helpful to be friends with powerful people than to give a possibly winning performance. Some critics believed that two Black actresses – Viola Davis of The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler of Till – should have gotten nominations⁴ over Riseborough.

Along with Riseborough, the nominees⁵ for Best Actress are Cate Blanchett for Tar⁶, Michelle Williams for The Fablemans, Ana de Armas for Blonde, and Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Words in This Story

tactic³ –n. a plan or strategy

promote –v. to speak positively⁷ about an idea

clarify –v. to explain or make clear

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

4 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

5 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

6 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

7 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。