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Academy Reviewing Campaign Procedures After Andrea Riseborough's Surprise Oscar Nomination

Academy Reviewing Campaign Procedures After Andrea Riseborough's Surprise Oscar Nomination

Andrea Riseborough's surprise Academy Award nomination for Best Actress appears to have triggered the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to conduct a review of campaign procedures around this year's nominees.

The review comes just days after the 41-year-old actress landed the coveted nomination for her role in To Leslie, playing an alcoholic single mother who seeks redemption after blowing her lottery winnings. When her name was read out loud in the Best Actress category -- joining Cate Blanchett (Tár), Ana de Armas (Blonde), Michelle Williams (The Fablemans) and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) -- many were shocked, considering that, to that point, she had only been nominated for one other award, an Independent Spirit Award.

What's more, the nomination came as an even bigger shock because of who wasn't nominated -- notably Danielle Deadwyler for Till and Viola Davis for The Woman King. It's purported that Riseborough's late push -- and subsequent Oscar nomination -- was due to a late-in-the-season, star-studded word-of-mouth campaign. From Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Amy Adams to Mia Farrow, Sarah Paulson and Edward Norton, a plethora of celebrities pushed for Riseborough to earn the distinct recognition before Academy voters submitted their nominations on Jan. 17.

But now the Academy, which never directly mentioned Riseborough or To Leslie, is taking a closer look at campaign procedures.

"It is the Academy’s goal to ensure that the Awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner, and we are committed to ensuring an inclusive awards process," the statement read. "We are conducting a review of the campaign procedures around this year’s nominees, to ensure that no guidelines were violated, and to inform us whether changes to the guidelines may be needed in a new era of social media and digital communication. We have confidence in the integrity of our nomination and voting procedures, and support genuine grassroots campaigns for outstanding performances."

The 95th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be handed out live at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on March 12 starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC. In the meantime, stay tuned to ETonline.com for complete Oscars coverage.

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