Open Letter to Oscar Nominees

Dear Oscar nominee:

Congratulations. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than that early morning phone call you got last week telling you you’d just been nominated for an Academy Award. March 24 will be here before you know it. If this is your first time, you’ll be amazed at how much work you have to do until then and how quickly the time will pass.

If you’re an acting nominee, you’ll have the added responsibility of having every journalist and every viewer judge your date, your outfit and, of course, your acceptance speech come Oscar night.

I’m already booked that night so I won’t go as your date, and you don’t want me to be your stylist, but I can help you with your speech. And trust me: Your best friend, your agent, your manager and your publicist certainly aren’t going to tell you the truth (they all want to hear their names read in front of 1 billion people from the stage of the Kodak Theatre). So it’s up to me. You’re not going to be thanking me anyway.

Have you been watching some of the recent awards shows? Is there anything more boring than hearing one of your otherwise talented fellow actors reading off a long list of names from a crumpled piece of paper in bad light without reading glasses on network television? I think not.

With a little planning and honest introspection, there’s no reason you can’t say something memorable, quotable and moving. Like all the best “spontaneous” public moments in Hollywood, this one takes some careful planning.

Before you prepare your speech, you need to ask yourself a few questions about the project and your place in it.

Is this a project that might only get one or two awards or is it likely to be a major award winner? Was this a passion project that you nurtured for a decade or something where you filmed it for a few weeks, forgot about it and went on to the next paycheck? Were you the star and the creator or a minor player in a bigger success?

What is your personal place in the awards show constellation? Are you an octogenarian finally getting recognition for a lifetime of work? Are you a lucky neophyte? Are you Tom Hanks, who has had to add on a well-deserved trophy room to his home? Whether this is your moment or one of many moments will help set the tenor of your remarks.

Just because everyone you know has seen your film, don’t assume everyone has seen it. Tragically, in many other parts of the country, most people do not have access to “academy screeners.” Think about what drew you to the project in the first place. Was it a character, a script, a message, a director or something else? This is not just an award, it is a chance to position and market a work. Say something meaningful. Even if your film did an impressive $150 million at the domestic box office, less than 10% of the country has seen it. This is a chance to introduce them to a great work or inspire them to see it a second time.

It is OK to thank the one or two people who really made a difference in your life and this project. Don’t make it the centerpiece of your remarks, but do acknowledge someone’s genuine contribution without mentioning their job title or the name of their company. If you want to thank your agent, manager or publicist, think about Dom Perignon, flowers, dinners, expensive presents and, in the case of publicists, raising their monthly retainer fees. Or simply say thank you in person, with a handwritten note or with years of loyalty.

There are some don’ts in this business:

* Don’t go beyond the time limit or the orchestra will start with the theme song and someone will drag you and your dignity off the stage.

* Don’t be dull. Think of this as a performance. If you really do win, you’ll have enough adrenalin and emotion that it’s sure to show and you’ll be glad you have a little something prepared.

* Don’t let your outfit overshadow what you have to say.

* Don’t worry. Even if you do forget to acknowledge your spouse, you can make up for it in the press the next day.

Finally, even if you think you don’t have a chance in hell, be prepared. I share two words with clients who think they’ll never win and have no reason to prepare: “Marisa Tomei.” Then, if they tell me that even if they do win they’ll think of something clever on the spur of the moment, I say “Sally Field” and they turn to butter.

Besides, every nominee should have the right to give an acceptance speech, even if it’s just in the shower or to the dog. That’s part of the fun of the awards process--to dream of the possibilities.

*

Howard Bragman is chairman of Bragman Nyman Cafarelli Public Relations, which has offices in Beverly Hills and New York.