Andrea Riseborough was a 'surprise' Oscar nomination. Now the Academy is conducting a review.

The movie To Leslie probably hasn't been on your radar - well, prepare for that to change.

The indie film, starring British actress Andrea Riseborough, is about a woman trying to rebuild her life amidst a complex drug and alcohol addiction. Upon its limited release last year (it has yet to premiere in Australia), the film made just $27,000 at the Box Office. 

Despite this, Riseborough was just nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in a leading role. Her "surprise" nomination featured alongside the "unsurprising" nominations of Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, and Michelle Williams.

While Riseborough's nomination thrilled fans, it seemingly unsettled the Academy. The board announced on Saturday it would be reviewing its own campaign policies to decide if voting guidelines were "violated".

Watch the trailer for To Leslie, which earned Andrea Riseborough an Oscar nomination. Story continues after video. 

Riseborough began acting in 2001 in theatre productions before working in small-budget TV shows. She landed her first movie role in 2006 with Venus. Most notably, she's recognisable for her work in Mandy, Oblivion and The Death of Stalin, but it wasn't until the drama To Leslie that she cropped up as a Hollywood front-runner. 

The British actor received a nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards and another at the Chicago Film Critics Association, but was snubbed at the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes. Since the Oscar nomination was announced, the film - and Riseborough herself - has received both hype and intense criticism. 

Here's exactly what happened. 

Celebrity screenings. A whole lot of 'em.

It began with Charlize Theron hosting a screening of To Leslie in November last year. It was later revealed by IndieWire that the film's director Michael Morris had made a few "well-placed calls".

Later, in January this year, Gwyneth Paltrow hosted her own screening and made a post about the movie on Instagram. She called To Leslie "a masterpiece" and added Riseborough "should win every award there is and all the ones that haven’t been invented yet." 

That same day, actor Edward Norton published his own thread on Twitter praising Riseborough’s performance as
"the most fully committed, emotionally deep... physically harrowing performance I’ve seen in a while." 

(L-R) Andrea Riseborough, Demi Moore, Michael Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow. Image: Instagram @gwynethpaltrow.

Fellow actor Minnie Driver also hosted a screening of the film in Los Angeles. 

A very long list of celebrity support.

Oscar nomination voting opened up on January 12, and more than 30 of Hollywood's biggest names took part in publicly praising To Leslie.

All in all, the celebrity-led campaign includes Susan Sarandon, Helen Hunt, Zooey Deschanel, Melanie Lynskey, Mira Sorvino, Constance Zimmer, Rosie O’Donnell, Minnie Driver, Alan Cumming, Daphne Zuniga, Tan France, Jenny McCarthy, Frances Fisher, Rosanna Arquette, Debra Winger, Patricia Clarkson, Howard Stern, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Demi Moore, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bradley Whitford, Jane Fonda, Dulé Hill, Michelle Monaghan, Laura Dern, Greg Kinnear, Kate Winslet, Kim Basinger, and Amy Adams. 

Sarah Paulson also lent her support, admitting she was "struck by its authenticity."

Cate Blanchett mentions Riseborough in her winner's speech. 

One of the most notable (and obvious) declarations was at the Critics Choice Award Show where Cate Blanchett - who won Best Actress - included Riseborough in her list of actors who deserve the win. 

Listen to The Spill, Mamamia's daily entertainment podcast. Story continues after audio. 

To Leslie goes viral on Reddit - and not for good reason.

Later that month, a movie buff collected a number of posts from celebrities who shared their support of To Leslie and shared it on Reddit. It went viral on Film Twitter because they all called the movie "a small film with a giant heart."

From there, Redditors began to speculate. 

"I am almost certain Riseborough has a Hollywood orgy videotaped and she’s using it to blackmail everyone," one post read.

"Are these celebrities all in the same cult," said another. 

At the top of her Critics Choice speech, Cate Blanchett shouts out TO LESLIE star Andrea Riseborough… pic.twitter.com/Wrdm13mEv4

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) January 16, 2023

A virtual Q&A.

In a virtual Q&A with Riseborough and Morris, Kate Winslet (who moderated the discussion) said it was "one of the greatest performances I have ever seen in my life."

Amy Adams moderated her own Q&A later that week as well. 

Michael Morris, Andrea Riseborough and Kate Winslet. Image: YouTube.

The Academy announces an investigation into, presumably, Riseborough's nomination.

Whilst it hasn't been confirmed that the board of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was specifically referring to Riseborough's nomination when it announced a review, it has been widely speculated given the timings. The review was announced just three days later after the nominations.

In a statement, the Academy said that its goal was to ensure the awards was conducted fairly and ethically. "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," the statement read. "We have confidence in the integrity of our nomination and voting procedures, and support genuine grassroots campaigns for outstanding performances."

Will all this drama actually be good publicity for To Leslie and Riseborough? We'll just have to wait and see.

Feature Image: Getty/Mamamia.

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