Beyond 'Emilia Pérez': Inside 7 of the nastiest Oscar campaigns in history

By the clip “Emilia Pérez” had garnered 13 Oscar nominations, including for champion picture, Netflix’s Spanish-language philharmonic astir a transgender cause lord had already been mired successful controversy. Critics skewered the film’s portrayal of trans issues and Mexican culture.

Then Karla Sofía Gascón’s old societal media posts resurfaced successful which the archetypal retired trans performer to person a pb histrion motion maligned Muslims, George Floyd and diverseness and seemed to body-shame the vocalist Adele.

Gascón apologized, deactivated her X relationship and past went connected the defensive, sometimes tearfully, successful an interrogation with CNN en Español, connected her Instagram relationship and successful a missive to the Hollywood Reporter successful which she denounced “this run of hate.”

After the societal media tempest erupted, during a speech connected podcast “The Town,” Netflix main contented serviceman Bela Bajaria called the contention “a bummer” that distracted from the movie and its accolades. Gascón has mostly been sidelined from the movie’s awards drive.

Yes, it’s Oscar season, wherever the roadworthy to the reddish carpet is often littered with unforced errors, smear campaigns, absorption probe and sometimes soiled tricks successful efforts to undermine if not outright torpedo the front-runners’ chances.

The Academy Awards are not conscionable an evening of self-congratulation. In summation to prestige, an Oscar is simply a immense publicity generator that tin construe into container bureau grosses, location video income and streaming viewership.

While successful years past specified campaigns usually were fueled by awards consultants and often aimed astatine a azygous movie oregon actor, this play has seen controversies served upon aggregate contenders.

It’s not conscionable the nonrecreational consultants and workplace marketers progressive successful these alleged susurration campaigns. Now tiny armies of amateur Internet sleuths and movie fans person joined the fray, turning gripes and teapot tempests into societal media scandals.

“The large quality successful the past 10 years is societal media fanning the flames,” said Jason E. Squire, big of “The Movie Business Podcast” and prof emeritus astatine USC‘s School of Cinematic Arts. “The existent question is whether it impacts Oscar voters.”

In summation to the travails of Gascón, champion representation nominee “The Brutalist” has been slammed for admittedly utilizing an AI code instrumentality to assistance stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones’s Hungarian connection skills. Fernanda Torres, the pb histrion nominee for “I’m Still Here,” came nether occurrence for appearing successful blackface connected a Brazilian tv amusement successful 2008. Torres apologized.

Then there’s “Anora,” different champion representation nominee, which was lambasted for not hiring an intimacy coordinator connected set. At a London screening, Sean Baker, the film’s director, said that helium had offered 1 to the pb actors.

With this year’s Academy Awards conscionable weeks away, we instrumentality a look astatine notable controversies of the past, immoderate of which possibly merit their ain statuettes for spite and nastiness: putting the tin successful Tinseltown.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes successful “Shakespeare successful Love.”

(Miramax Films)

“Shakespeare successful Love”

Oscar year: 1999

Backstory: Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic “Saving Private Ryan” was considered the favorite, but Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein, known for turning awards campaigns into a humor sport, had different plans.

Controversy: “Shakespeare successful Love’s” champion representation triumph is wide seen arsenic the capstone to 1 of the astir arguable grant campaigns successful Oscar history.

Mark Gill, past Miramax‘s L.A. president, told the Hollywood Reporter, “We utilized the playbook for ‘The English Patient’ — turbocharged, connected steroids. It was conscionable perfectly murderous the full mode through.”

Miramax staffers called voters to marque definite they had received a VHS transcript of “Shakespeare successful Love.” Weinstein enlisted First Lady Hillary Clinton to big the film’s satellite premiere successful New York, unleashed a blizzard of ads, hosted parties with the film’s stars and acceptable up screenings and backstage dinners with Oscar voters.

Weinstein besides was accused of badmouthing the Spielberg film, a DreamWorks release.

Terry Press, DreamWorks’ selling main astatine the time, later said that she received calls from reporters telling her that Miramax publicists were “trying to get america to constitute stories saying that the lone happening astonishing astir ‘Ryan’ is the archetypal 20 minutes, and past aft that it’s conscionable a regular genre movie.”

And the Oscar goes to: “Shakespeare successful Love” won 7 Academy Awards including champion representation and pb histrion (Gwyneth Paltrow). “Saving Private Ryan” won five, including manager (Spielberg).

Russell Crowe played mathematical genius John Nash successful “A Beautiful Mind.”

(Universal Studios)

“A Beautiful Mind”

Oscar year: 2002

Backstory: The beingness of mathematician John Nash, a Nobel laureate who triumphed implicit schizophrenia, was chronicled successful this acclaimed Ron Howard-directed biopic, earning 8 Oscar nominations, including champion picture.

Controversy: A communicative caught occurrence with critics who began charging that the much antagonistic parts of Nash’s beingness were omitted from the film. Accusations that Nash was an antisemite, adulterer and homophobe began to look successful reviews, gossip sites and quality articles, prompting him to look connected “60 Minutes” to refute the claims.

Angered by the reports, Sylvia Nasar, the writer of the publication connected which the movie was based, wrote an op-ed for The Times, rebuking journalists and saying they had “distorted” worldly from her publication and “invented ‘facts.’”

And the Oscar goes to: “A Beautiful Mind” won 4 Oscars including champion picture, supporting histrion (Jennifer Connelly) and manager (Howard).

Whoopi Goldberg successful “The Color Purple.”

(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

“The Color Purple”

Oscar year: 1986

Backstory: Spielberg’s adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning caller earned 11 nominations, including champion representation and adapted screenplay, and it was Oprah Winfrey’s movie debut, garnering her a supporting histrion nomination.

Controversy: When the movie was released successful 1985, it instantly sparked a backlash, coming nether occurrence for its depiction of rape and stereotypical representations of Black men, a portrayal that Spike Lee decried arsenic “one-dimensional animals.” It besides faced disapproval for having been directed by a achromatic man. During a peculiar screening successful Los Angeles, the Coalition Against Black Exploitation staged a protest.

And the Oscar goes to: “Out of Africa” took location the champion representation trophy. “The Color Purple” was unopen out, vying with 1977’s “The Turning Point,” which besides earned 11 nods, for the astir nominated movie to instrumentality location zero awards.

Jessica Chastain starred successful “Zero Dark Thirty.”

(Jonathan Olley / Sony Pictures Releasing)

“Zero Dark Thirty”

Oscar year: 2013

Backstory: Kathryn Bigelow directed this thriller astir the decades-long manhunt for 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, and the U.S. subject raid connected his Pakistani compound wherever helium was killed. The movie received 5 Oscar nominations including champion representation and archetypal screenplay.

Controversy: When it was released, the movie earned plentifulness of captious huzzahs, with The Times calling it “cinematic storytelling astatine its astir effective.”

But it besides drew opprobrium, with detractors taking purpose astatine the movie’s depiction of torture and questioning its veracity. The movie became a flash constituent for partisan bickering erstwhile critics of the Obama medication claimed that the film’s planned October merchandise was timed to boost his reelection run — it was aboriginal moved to December.

There besides were claims by some blimpish activists that the CIA provided classified accusation to Bigelow and her squad arsenic they researched the film, charges that were denied by the filmmakers. A Senate enquiry into the substance was aboriginal dropped, Reuters reported.

And the Oscar goes to: “Zero Dark Thirty” took location the grant for dependable editing. Ben Affleck’s “Argo” won the apical prize.

Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali successful “Green Book.”

(Patti Perret / Universal Pictures)

“Green Book”

Oscar year: 2019

Backstory: The movie chronicles the real-life relationship betwixt a Black classical pianist, Donald Shirley, and Tony “Lip” Vallelonga, his Italian American driver, arsenic they question crossed the segregated South during Shirley’s performance circuit successful the 1960s. Directed by Peter Farrelly, it starred Mahershala Ali arsenic Shirley and Viggo Mortensen arsenic Vallelonga and earned 5 Oscar nominations including champion picture.

Controversy: A swirl of charges surrounded the film, with galore involving radical politics. Shirley’s household castigated the filmmakers for excluding them, saying the movie’s portrayal of Shirley arsenic estranged from his household and the Black assemblage was “hurtful.” They besides called into question the depiction of his relationship with Vallelonga. Dr. Maurice Shirley, Donald’s brother, described the movie arsenic a “symphony of lies.”

And the Oscar goes to: “Green Book” took champion representation arsenic good arsenic statuettes for archetypal screenplay and supporting histrion (Ali).

Joan Crawford arsenic Blanche Hudson, left, and Bette Davis arsenic Baby Jane Hudson successful ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”

(Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images)

“Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”

Oscar year: 1963

Backstory: The bitter rivalry betwixt surface legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford helped propel this movie astir an aging onetime kid prima who torments her sister, a paraplegic erstwhile actor.

Controversy: The actresses’ discord played retired offscreen arsenic Crawford actively campaigned against Davis, who earned a information for pb histrion — her 10th and last nod.

Crawford, who was snubbed, ended up onstage and accepted connected behalf of Anne Bancroft, who won for “The Miracle Worker,” beating Davis. Bancroft was appearing connected Broadway and was incapable to be the ceremony.

And the Oscar goes to: “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” won 1 Oscar, for costume design.

Orson Welles arsenic Charles Foster Kane successful “Citizen Kane.”

(Warner Bros.)

“Citizen Kane”

Oscar year: 1942

Backstory: Often cited arsenic the top movie ever made, “Citizen Kane” tells the communicative of Charles Foster Kane (played by Orson Welles, who co-wrote and directed), a affluent paper steadfast whose decease becomes a planetary sensation. It earned 9 Oscar nominations including champion representation and director.

Controversy: The movie was considered a thinly veiled swipe astatine real-life paper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who did not instrumentality kindly to the celluloid portrait. He attempted to blacklist it done antagonistic property successful his Hearst paper concatenation and, on with his defenders, pressured theaters not to amusement it.

And the Oscar goes to: “Citizen Kane” won a azygous Oscar, for archetypal screenplay. “How Green Was My Valley” won champion picture.