A Makeup Artist in Anger

It is one of those Oscar categories that receive scant attention amid all the pomp and circumstance of the Academy Awards. But when the academy decided this year’s Oscar nominations for best makeup, the news hit Tina Earnshaw like a slap in the face with a wet towel.

Earnshaw, who had designed and applied makeup to Gwyneth Paltrow, the lead actress and central character of “Shakespeare in Love,” discovered that her name had been dropped by the academy from a list of three makeup artists put forward by the producers.

Yet, despite appeals to the academy from Miramax and Paltrow, Earnshaw said, she still has not been given a reason by the academy for its action.

“It’s unfair,” said Earnshaw, whose work on “Titanic” earned her an Oscar nomination last year. “Gwyneth was a heavy makeup job. . . . She changes from boy to girl, girl to boy, with mustache and beard on. You are continually changing her.”

Earnshaw’s complaint underscores the secretive and often contentious nature of the Oscar nominating process--a process jealously guarded by the academy. In fact, this is the second dispute to go public in two weeks involving Oscar nominations.

Last week, Grammy-winning composer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds complained that he was snubbed in an Oscar nomination that was given to Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz for the song “When You Believe” from the animated DreamWorks movie “The Prince of Egypt.”

Edmonds contends that Schwartz refused to co-sign an application that would have made Edmonds eligible for an Oscar. Schwartz maintains, however, that Edmonds is not eligible by academy rules and the academy has sided with Schwartz.

Such disputes are not unusual, said Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He estimated that 20 to 30 times at this time of year, people complain to the academy that their contributions to a film have been overlooked.

Davis declined to comment on the “Shakespeare in Love” dispute in any substantive detail, except to say that when it comes to determining who should be nominated for best makeup, “basically it is the central person who did the work.”

However, sources close to the film theorized that the academy dropped Earnshaw from consideration because she only worked on Paltrow and not a wider range of characters in the film.

But if that is the case, say Earnshaw and her agent, Daniella Milton, it overlooks the fact that Paltrow adopts four distinct looks in the movie--some women, some men. Indeed, Miramax has taken out a series of ads in Hollywood’s trade papers urging academy voters to consider Paltrow for best actress, drawing attention to four characters she plays in the film: Viola de Lesseps, Thomas Kent, Romeo and also Juliet.

“Shakespeare in Love” led all other pictures this year with 13 Oscar nominations, including Paltrow for best actress, Geoffrey Rush as best supporting actor, John Madden as best director, and best picture.

For best makeup, the academy nominated Lisa Westcott, the film’s hair and makeup designer, and Veronica Brebner, senior hair and makeup artist.

Miramax Appeals, but the Academy Says No

A Miramax spokeswoman said the studio called the academy on Earnshaw’s behalf and it was suggested that she should appeal the decision.

David Parfitt, one of the film’s producers, said in a telephone interview from London this week that Miramax felt all three makeup artists deserved a nomination.

“Tina is a wonderful makeup artist at the top of her profession,” Parfitt said. “She was nominated last year for ‘Titanic,’ as was Lisa for “Mrs. Brown.’ . . . It would have been nice to see them nominated again.”

But Parfitt refused to be drawn into the Oscar dispute, saying that while Miramax had appealed, the academy had turned down the appeal.

“I quite understand how they feel, but all I can say is we feel for them, but the academy has come back and said no,” Parfitt said. “In the end, that is really the beginning and the end of it.”

Parfitt said that under the academy’s rules, the producers were allowed to put forward up to three names for nomination. He said Westcott made a personal pitch for the movie’s makeup team.

Earnshaw’s agent, however, said she attended a Jan. 30 meeting of the academy’s Makeup Award Executive Committee and was surprised that the film clips the committee was shown only contained a few brief images of Paltrow.

“It was mainly crowd scenes and heavy on Judi Dench and Geoffrey Rush,” Milton recalled.

“Gwyneth wasn’t even in for a few seconds,” Earnshaw added. “There was one quick flash of her, and not even a flash of her as a boy. It was all Geoffrey Rush and Judi Dench.”

Westcott could not be reached for comment.

Earnshaw, who has made six other movies with Paltrow, said she worked a total of 56 days with the actress during the shoot. Because of Paltrow’s appearance in many of the scenes, Earnshaw said she did not have the opportunity to work on the other actors. Earnshaw’s agent said she is still upset that the academy refuses to give her an explanation for its vote.

“I’m disappointed that they’re not big enough to give me an answer,” Milton said. “Who am I? A small fish. All I get is, ‘I’ll get right back to you.’ It’s disappointing. It’s the academy.”