A Blockbuster Campaign Can Be as Good as Gold

Barely any A-list stars showed up at the Four Seasons Hotel for the "Maria Full of Grace" reception, just one of countless Oscar get-out-the-vote efforts that surface during awards season each year. A handful of people made cocktail party chatter with director Joshua Marston and star Catalina Sandino Moreno, sampled a few drab appetizers, then quickly went on their way, most with a modest parting gift: a copy of the film's DVD.

The "Sideways" blowout a few weeks later stood at the opposite end of the spectrum. Hundreds of top show business talent and Oscar voters jammed the restaurant Vibrato, where they drank expensive Hitching Post Pinot Noir by the gallon. On stage, the film's composer, Rolfe Kent, jammed with a jazz band.

Maybe only the naive consider the Academy Awards to be an evenhanded referendum on the best films, but rarely has it devolved into such a marked battle between the haves and the have-nots as it has with this year's motley crop of large and small contenders.

Desperate to adorn their films with the valuable Oscar seal of approval, well-heeled studios now spend as much as $15 million promoting the award chances for such movies as "The Aviator" and "Million Dollar Baby." Other films, such as "Finding Neverland" and "Hotel Rwanda," try to stay in the race with a fraction of that.

"It's gotten out of control," said John Daly, executive producer of best picture winners "Platoon" and "The Last Emperor." "And the costs have become prohibitive for a smaller film. You may not be cutting into the profits. You may not even have any profits."

Unlike last year, when "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" dominated the Oscars, there is no clear favorite in the best picture race, making Hollywood look a lot like a presidential election battleground state, with studios scouring for every possible vote, often at a steep financial and personal price.

According to several experts and competitors, Warner Bros. and Miramax have spent about $15 million each on the campaigns for "Million Dollar Baby" and "The Aviator." That's almost what it cost to make best picture nominee "Sideways."

Pinpointing the exact campaign budgets is as elusive as getting a look at the next "Star Wars" screenplay. Both Miramax and Warner Bros. said they spent only $4 million on the Oscar push for "The Aviator" and "Million Dollar Baby," respectively. (A Warners spokesman, discussing "Million Dollar Baby," said that studio's figure doesn't include the cost of promoting the film's theatrical release.)