The movie sucked.

Perhaps the A+ list singer could take some lessons from the publicity people behind this surprise Oscar nominee who showed that payola to a select few people can get you nominated.

The movie sucked.

Yes, the actress was decent, but so are dozens of other actresses who don’t have that secret payola weapon in their back pocket and won’t get nominated.

Taylor Swift

Andrea Riseborough

Movie: To Leslie

How Andrea Riseborough pulled off that shocking Oscar nomination

“To Leslie,” the indie drama that scored Andrea Riseborough one of the most shocking nominations in Oscar history, opened at Monica Film Center in Santa Monica on Oct. 9, where it came and went after playing to an empty house for five days.

It ended its theatrical run soon afterward with a worldwide box office of $27,000 — that’s thousand, not million. Marc Maron, who co-stars with Riseborough in the downbeat drama about an addict returning to her West Texas hometown to rebuild her life, was incensed at distributor Momentum Pictures’ handling of the film, grousing on his WTF podcast: “The f— distributor dropped the ball on facilitating something that would bring a lot more attention to the movie. And now this movie with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score that everyone should see [has] been hobbled by the people responsible for putting it out there.”

“To Leslie” director Michael Morris knows plenty of actors and celebrities from his long career, as does his wife, actor Mary McCormack, and they contacted nearly every one of them, requesting their friends watch the movie and, if they liked it, spread the word.

Charlize Theron was the first to sign on, hosting a screening for the movie at Creative Arts Agency in Century City in November. “It’s the kind of movie that stays in your mind. It stays in your bones. [It] even stays in your skin,” Theron said, introducing “To Leslie” as a throwback to indie movies of the ‘70s. Edward Norton and Jennifer Aniston lent their support later that month, opening their homes for private screenings.

Shortly after that, Riseborough met with Shelter PR, who agreed to run a campaign alongside her team at Narrative PR. Outside of what Riseborough and Morris were willing to spend, there wasn’t any money. Riseborough and the publicists drew up a list of actors they could possibly enlist and, bolstered by McCormack’s and Morris’ contacts, started working the phones. Over the holidays while the rest of Hollywood was laying low and trying to navigate the film academy’s streaming platform, they built a foundation of support that was unleashed when the calendar turned to 2023.

“It went from zero to 100 faster than anything I’ve ever seen,” a source close to the campaign says. “It was a movement of support and love for a performance.”

Gwyneth Paltrow hosted a screening in early January, calling the movie a “masterpiece.” Courteney Cox followed suit. Oscar nominations voting began on Jan. 12, and the next day, Rosanna Arquette introduced “To Leslie” to a packed theater at the Directors Guild on Sunset. After the credits rolled, Riseborough, Morris and actors Allison Janney, Maron and Andre Royo took the stage to talk with Demi Moore. Nobody in the theater left.

The campaign went virtual the next day with Kate Winslet, who worked with Riseborough on the upcoming drama “Lee,” leading a Q&A. “You should be up for everything,” Winslet told Riseborough. “You should be winning everything. Andrea Riseborough, I think this is the greatest female performance on screen I have ever seen in my life.” Amy Adams led a similar event hours before voting closed last week, saying she was “happy to spread the word … about this amazing feat of filmmaking.” – Source