"I love talking about the film," the British actress said. "It's the best thing I will ever do. And it will all be over in 15 minutes, won't it? And then I'll never have to talk about it again."
No matter how much is spent or how many miles are logged, there are countless examples of nominees who have done little or no campaigning walking off with the Oscar, such as the 2002 Holocaust drama "The Pianist," which picked up two top Oscars: best actor (Adrien Brody) and best director (Roman Polanski). Polanski, a fugitive from the United States who lives in France, barely gave an interview to promote the film.
Even Weinstein, the P.T. Barnum of Oscar campaigning, said that because of his company's recent financial constraints he had been more frugal with his Oscar spending. "We've learned you don't have to spend," said Weinstein, who has two films in the race, "The Aviator" and "Finding Neverland." "It really is the movie that counts."
The company isn't even promoting the best picture chances for "Neverland" (though that may have more to do with the extreme longshot standing of the film than with any sudden conversion to Oscar campaign reform.)
And then there are those who have already spent and lost, even before Sunday's 77th Oscar show begins. Warner Independent Pictures mounted an aggressive campaign to get the French-language romantic drama "A Very Long Engagement" Oscar glory but ended up with only nominations for art direction and cinematography.
Sighed Mark Gill, president of Warners' specialty label, "All the campaigning effort in the world is not, unfortunately, enough, if academy voters don't love your movie."
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
$15-million-dollar man
A full-scale Academy Awards campaign now costs up to
$15 million. Although studios guard actual Oscar budgets, here's what a hypothetical best picture Oscar spending plan looks like:
37.5%
Advertising
Includes TV spots, ads in Hollywood trades and newspapers, and online spots, plus design and production fees.
25%
DVDs
Before thousands of DVDs are mailed to the 5,808 Oscar voters, addresses must be verified and the movies must be encrypted and duplicated.
12.5%
Events
Includes catered cocktail parties, question-and-answer sessions, security and parking.
12.5%
Miscellaneous mail
Studios love sending swag such as "Kinsey" picnic baskets and glossy books commemorating the making of the films.
12.5%
Screenings
In addition to mailing DVDs, numerous screenings are held in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and London.
Source: Times research
Times staff writer Mary McNamara and correspondent Chris Lee contributed to this report.
