Everyone knows politicians have to be great actors. Now, it's getting harder and harder to be an Academy Award-winning actor without becoming a politician.

Hollywood watchers say the pre-show campaign for this year's Oscars has devolved into stump speeches, daily media briefings, and smear tactics – the Academy Awards equivalent of running for mayor of New York. Or Detroit. Although studios have long mounted extensive campaigns to sway the 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in their balloting for this Sunday's Oscars, this year's lobbying has taken on the intensity and vitriol of a cinematic version of politics. Call it "Bulworth" meets "Primary Colors."

"I'm not sure if I am a filmmaker anymore or trying to run for Congress," said Peter Jackson backstage at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards. "You find yourself becoming a sort of politician in an election year ... the line gets a bit blurred.

The "vote for me" Oscar campaigns of 2002 are fueled by shrinking profit margins by movie studios. In addition to the prestige of winning a key Oscar, the victorious studios have been able to extend the cinema life of their movies by pulling in moviegoers curious to see what all the fuss was about. And when the movies arrive on DVD and video, they come with a stamp proclaiming "Best Picture" or "Best Actor" on the box. "Oscar" wins also keep movie-based merchandise – figurines, posters, video games – on store shelves longer.

"Hollywood has reached a whole new level of competitiveness this year for the bragging rights that go along with winning an Oscar," says Damien Bona, author of two books on the Oscars.

"In addition to giving a pat on the back and generating audiences for the winning films, winning the Oscar clearly helps for getting future projects funded and increasing salaries," says Mr. Bona. "In a town of fragile egos where everyone is afraid of losing jobs, this is the most competitive year I've ever seen."

The biggest spark of controversy this year came when media stories started to question the veracity of "A Beautiful Mind," a movie which portrays Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash's triumph over schizophrenia. The film has been hotly favored to win Best Picture this year. But some have accused the film, which is an adaptation of a biography by Sylvia Nassar, of omitting key details of the protagonist's life, such as a divorce and alleged anti-Semitism and bisexual tendencies.

Universal, the studio backing the movie, has reacted angrily, accusing an unnamed rival studio of drumming up the stories as part of a smear campaign. This past Sunday, Mr. Nash himself appeared on national TV to counter the rumors about his life.

That's not the only "scandal" surrounding "A Beautiful Mind." Russell Crowe, who portrays Nash in the film, recently had an altercation backstage with a TV producer who cut short the broadcast of his acceptance speech at a British awards show.

Prior to the incident, Crowe had been considered a lock for the Best Actor Oscar this year. After initial reticence to apologize to the shaken producer, Crowe made amends as a storm of bad publicity grew over the incident, leading some to accuse the actor of doing so only out of political expediency.

But, following what many called his "boorish faux pax," a series of top stars – including Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Spacey – began endorsing Denzel Washington, nominated in the same category for "Training Day."

Adding to the imbroglio is an argument over race. Mr. Washington joins Will Smith and actress Halle Berry as a group of three African-American actors nominated for an Academy Award this year. The last time there were three black nominees was in 1972, and no African-American has won Best Actor since Sidney Poitier in 1963.

Page: 1 | 2