Oscars 2023: The controversial nomination of Andrea Riseborough
Usually, the nominations for the Oscars are almost entirely predictable, and whilst this year has seen the familiar sights of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and Cate Blanchett receive nominations, almost nobody was expecting Andrea Riseborough to receive a nod in the ‘Best Actress’ category.
Claiming a nomination for her performance in the small indie drama To Leslie, where the British actor stars as a Texas mother who wins the lottery, Riseborough’s nod came after a guerrilla campaign for the performer online. Whilst many have got behind her performance, others are raising their eyebrows as to how she got an Oscar nomination in the first place when the film made just £22,000 at the global box office when it was released in October 2022.
Look closer, and it appears that Riseborough’s nomination has come as the result of a social media drive from the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Edward Norton, Amy Adams, Jennifer Aniston, Cate Blanchett and Jane Fonda, who all praised the film online and called for Riseborough to receive an Oscar gong.
“I’m astounded,” Riseborough told Deadline in an exclusive interview about her nomination, adding: “It’s such an unexpected ray of light. It was so hard to believe it might ever happen because we really hadn’t been in the running for anything else. Even though we had a lot of support, the idea it might actually happen seemed so far away…I’m not entirely sure how the f*ck this happened”.
Much of the controversy surrounds how Riseborough managed to claim an Oscar nomination so late in the campaign for ‘Best Actress’ when actors such as Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler were totally snubbed for their roles in The Woman King and Till, respectively.
Still, whilst audiences might complain, the decision has now been set in stone. On March 13th Riseborough will contend with Ana de Armas, Michelle Williams, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh for the acclaimed statuette.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.