USA: OSCAR CAMPAIGNING HITS HIGH GEAR DURING FINAL BUILD-UP TO AWARDS

Record ID: 549693

  • Title: USA: OSCAR CAMPAIGNING HITS HIGH GEAR DURING FINAL BUILD-UP TO AWARDS
  • Date: 25th March 2001
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) MIRAMAX PRESIDENT HARVEY WEINSTEIN AT PREMIERE OF 'CHOCOLAT'
  • Embargoed: 9th April 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9C0QAFFUECBKUWM3X9FNO0JY6
  • Story Text: In a town where money and name-dropping may be even more important than how good your film really is, no Oscar win is a sure thing until the trophy's on your mantle, but a bit of campaigning and self-promotion never goes amiss.
    In Hollywood, marketing your film may be more important than actually filming it. If you've opened any movie-related trade publications in the past month, you're already too aware of the advertising blitz it seems to take to win an Academy Award.
    Peter Hammond, a respected Oscar journalist with more years under his belt than the majority of media walking the red carpet, knows all too well, that the Best Picture Oscar should be re-named, 'Best Marketed Film'.
    "Well, Oscars are big business," said Hammond in a red carpet interview with Reuters. "And it's an international business. This is an internationally recognised award. So whether it's immoral or a little bit untoward, I don't know. I think it's all a part of the movie business and it's here to stay."
    Recognised as the all-time king of Oscar marketing is Miramax president Harvey Weinstein, a much-watched Hollywood operator during awards season.
    "Well, marketing has become a key thing. In fact, they ought to give a special Oscar for it," said Hammond. "Maybe a lifetime achievement award to Harvey Weinstein, or something, of Miramax, because they really perfected the art of it in recent years."
    At no time was that mastery more apparent than the 1999 Academy Awards. The critics had all but handed Steven Speilberg, and his fledgling movie studio Dreamworks, the best picture Oscar for 'Saving Private Ryan'. That was before Weinstein and the Miramax marketing machine got to work.
    Miramax's best picture entry, 'Shakespeare In Love', pulled off what many still consider to be the biggest Oscar-upset of all time.
    "I think the fact that 'Shakespeare In Love' won best picture that year was amazing," said Hammond. "The fact that 'Shakespeare In Love' won sort of validated the idea of this marketing campaign."
    It's continued right up to this weekend's Academy Awards.
    While the critics have again all but handed the Oscar to Dreamworks, this time for 'Gladiator', Weinstein and company managed to squeeze the little-known film 'Chocloat' into the running for best picture.
    How do they keep doing it?
    "They got themselves awards from the United Nations, and all these organisations that normally aren't connected with movies," said Hammond. "That plays with Academy members. They like voting on serious issues. That was a very smart move and when 'Chocolat' got nominated, once again the town bowed down and handed it to Miramax. They know how to market these things."
    Will Miramax's latest marketing campaign pull it off? Will Speilberg yet again have to swallow his pride with the clear best picture favourite? Only time will tell, and time's running out.
    The 73rd Annual Academy Awards will be handed out Sunday (March 25) evening in Los Angeles.
    (cl/dw)
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