14 DAY TRIAL // Melissa Leo is one of the strongest contenders, if not actually the favorite, to win Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards 2011, yet she’s hardly getting any media for it. With this in mind, she took matters into her own hands, launching a “For Your Consideration” campaign.
It’s not uncommon for actors to pay for their own Oscars campaigns, though history has taught Hollywood a very important lesson in this sense: most of the times, these initiatives backfire.
Deadline reports that Leo decided to launch an Oscar campaign because she found it impossible to land magazine covers because of her age, which is not fair because it means she’s not getting proper exposure.
Given that she’s already won a Critics Choice Award, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for the same category with her role in “The Fighter,” she deserves said exposure for the Oscars, which is where the campaign comes in.
As of now, there are two prints of the actress: in one she’s posing in a black evening dress and black (fake fur), in the other, she’s draped entirely by white (fake) fur.
Both ads read “Consider” and have “Melissa Leo” at the bottom. They don’t explicitly say they’re for the Oscars, but it’s no rocket science to guess that’s the purpose they ultimately serve.
Asked about why she went “rogue” (the ads are done independently of the movie studio), Leo says ageism in Hollywood determined her to do so.
Because she’s 50 years old, she’s not considered “box office material,” therefore she doesn’t land covers and interviews in any major publication. The prints are her way of fighting this.
“I took matters into my own hands. I knew what I was doing and told my representation how earnest I was about this idea. I had never heard of any actor taking out an ad as themselves and I wanted to give it a shot,” Melissa told Deadline in a recent interview.
“I am quite certain I have not overstepped any boundaries of the Academy. I did hear a lot of very positive comments, particularly from women of a certain age who happen to act for a living and happen to understand full well the great dilemma and mystery of getting a cover of a magazine,” the actress explains.
“I also heard there were negative comments, but no one said them to my face, sadly. I like to hear what people think. I could explain myself,” she adds.
“All I ask of Hollywood is they consider Melissa Leo. If you want to hire me, give me a shout,” Leo says.