I love it when celebrities give me the content I’ve been asking for.
For the last month or so, as we get deeper into award season, I’ve been posting aboutcelebrity support in an Oscar campaignand how every year, we see celebrities come out to endorse their friends – they host screenings or dinners, they moderate Q&As, they show up to the premieres, they post about them on social media.
Jessica Chastain established herself as a Best Actress Oscar contender late in the summer, whenThe Eyes of Tammy Fayefirst screened – and she has remained in the conversation, although it has been dominated by Kristen Stewart and Lady Gaga withSpencerandHouse of Guccirespectively. While Kristen seems locked for a nomination, and Gaga is a good bet too, I can’t say that there’s a clear frontrunner, that at this point in the race, it’s a foregone conclusion the way, say, Joaquin Phoenix was in 2019 or Renee Zellweger that same year.
Jessica’s campaign consultants must know this – it’s their job, after all, and trust me, almost everyone has an Oscar consultant – and in a race this tight, timing is everything, strategy is everything. So go back to endorsements, of course the support is welcome from their peers. Not only because you have your friend’s back, but because all the eyeballs count, the right kind of attention matters.
Last night, Anne Hathaway showed up for Jessica at a screening forThe Eyes of Tammy Faye.Annie hasn’t been one of those celebrities who’s been super visible since COVID restrictions were lifted and Hollywood schedules resumed. She’s selective about her appearances and so it was noteworthy, at least to me, that she attended last night. Annie already has her Oscar, and as a member of the Academy, it looks like her vote is with Jessica. Jessica refers to her as her “wife”:
Her “wife” is a veteran of the business so Annie’s fit is exactly what you wear when you’re making an endorsement. Nothing that screams “this is about me” but also very, very stylish. A classic tweed coat over a beautiful black sweater dress with a pair of excellent boots and serving a lot of leg. She looks amazing. As does Jessica, in red and white, suitable for the holiday season but not too much holiday, and lots of leg too.
Annie and Jessica have been friends for years. They were both inInterstellar.Last year it was announced that they’d be working together on a new film calledMothers’ Instinct,an English-language version of the Belgian originalDuelles.Both are well connected in the industry because they’ve been in so many projects with so many major players. Jessica has been nominated for Oscar twice in the past, she’s a Golden Globe and SAG and Critics’ Choice winner – she’s getting into Amy Adams territory, which used to be Kate Winslet territory…as in “why doesn’t Jessica Chastain have an Oscar?!” territory, and it’s still very possible this year.
