Borkowski Media Trends: Oscars runners & riders & MORE
Plus: Hawk Tuah's Crypto Crisis | Is Spotify Wrapped cooked?
Oscars runners and riders
As the year draws to a close and UK cinemas bask in the success of Wicked, Gladiator II and Paddington in Peru, all eyes in the film industry are turning to the upcoming awards season. With the nominees for this year’s Golden Globes set to be announced on Monday, and with an unusual amount of the frontrunners already in UK cinemas, filmgoers have no doubt started to draw their own conclusions on the narratives pundits have been crafting since Cannes, all the way back in May.
What is certain is that Wicked and Dune 2, the hits of the year, will make an appearance, as will festival favourites Anora, The Brutalist and Conclave. Indie darling Sing Sing and Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown are also in contention.
The make-up of both the Academy and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the awarding body of the Golden Globes, have changed drastically in the last few years, the former in response to the much publicised #OscarsSoWhite campaign, and the latter a result of long-standing allegations of bribery, favouritism and systemic racism within its membership. The Globes remain essentially a starry affair, but the changes to the Academy’s voting branches have made its nominations both more wide-ranging and more interesting – the diversification of the Director’s branch, in particular, has brought oft-ignored European and Asian filmmakers into the fold, like last year’s nomination for Justine Triet and a nod in 2022 for Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
But it also remains true that awards season is about two things – press and politics, and anyone, or more precisely any studio, canny at both can succeed. To a lesser extent, convention and tradition still play a part – terms like “overdue” and “bait” are still thrown around on social media, mostly by people who don’t know how to use them – but the path for any film is now paved far more through genuine public relations than it is through backroom big-wigs.
A key example this year is Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice, which, despite being critical of the President-elect, has been treated like toxic backwash by Hollywood merely because of its political associations – Sebastian Stan, who plays Trump, has said he was unable to take part in Variety’s Actors on Actors sessions, because no other actor (or, perhaps, no other actor’s publicist) wanted to discuss the film with him.
We are by no means in an era of cinematic apoliticism, but studios, and, as a result, awards bodies, are more conscious than ever of having the “right” politics, undoubtedly a direct result of the criticisms they’ve faced in recent years. Having those politics is often seen as a key part of audience, and critical, appeal, especially when campaigns are increasingly built and broken on social media. Taking the temperature of an industry is always a difficult gambit, but if we'd venture one guess, it's that The Apprentice, although a useful case study in what not to do, is DOA.
Regardless, here are some of Borkowski’s Ones to Watch before this year’s season kicks off:
The declining fortunes of Emilia Perez (dir. Jacques Audiard) – In a perfect example of how the Academy’s diversification has genuinely broadened its horizons, Cannes Film Festival now acts as a much more viable stomping ground for future Oscar winners. Anora, this year’s frontrunner, was the Palme D’Or winner, but Audiard’s Jury Prize winning musical was also much touted for a long period. Its reputation has, however, shifted as it gained a wider audience, and the question now seems to be whether the Netflix money behind it can keep it in serious contention for any wins.
Kate Winslet (Lee, dir. Ellen Kuras) – If there’s an dark horse to back in the Best Actress race, it’s this one. Don’t expect to see her in the Globes nominations come Monday, but with strong industry support, particularly from Frances Fisher (who famously spearheaded the campaign that saw Andrea Riseborough nominated in 2023 for To Leslie, a film almost literally no one saw), a nomination in January is on the cards.
Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, and the cast and crew of Conclave (dir. Edward Berger) – The Brutalist and Anora remain the biggest contenders across the board, but a swell of social media support (and all-important meme value) has made this the little film that could, and a serious possibility for a Picture win. Fiennes will likely end up as Adrien Brody’s bridesmaid in Best Actor, but don’t be surprised to see Rossellini squeak into the Best Supporting Actress nominations on the basis of the film’s popularity.
September 5 (dir. Tim Fehlbaum) – This played at Venice to a mixed reception but is much touted by some members of the awards press and was subsequently snapped up by Paramount. An Oscar nomination in a crowded Picture category seems unlikely, but it’s the type of thing that could sneak in at the Globes – potentially, given its subject matter, to the chagrin of awards bodies looking to avoid controversy.
Demi Moore (The Substance, dir. Coralie Fargeat) – Arguably the most discussed film of the year, this is a lock for Globes nominations, helped by that ceremony’s insistence on separating drama and comedy – it’s running in comedy, where Demi Moore will no doubt pick up an Actress nomination, too. The bigger question is whether Moore gets in at the Oscars, an awarding body more historically averse to horror performances. As with Winslet, the nomination is the win here – and it’ll be one or the other.
Time to Talk Tuah Lawyer
‘Hawk Tua Girl’ Haliey Welch launched her own cryptocurrency this week, only for it to collapse hours later, losing 90% of its value. Welch is now being accused of scamming investors, with a complaint already filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission less than 24 hours post-launch.
Launch of the memecoin $HAWK was an obvious attempt to continue to cash in on her viral fame, with Welch claiming that the currency was a way to interact with her fans. Welch has done well to pivot the Hawk Tuah meme virality into a lucrative revenue stream. Mobilising a PR team seemingly overnight, she has now sold tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise based on the phrase alone. Her phrase has even appropriated as an emblem for the American right. Welch is a lesson in what to do with your 15 minutes, converting clicks and controversy into cold hard cash. With her podcast Talk Tuah regularly featuring celebrity guests, and her partnership with FatHead Threads producing merch (including a hat for $32.78 or $50 signed) the bio of her podcast ‘Haliey Welch is ready to show the world that she's much more than a 30 second clip, and she’s here to stay’ may ring true.
Queen of striking when the iron is hot, Welch has so far ridden the wave. The crypto move, however, may have been a step too far. Merchandise is one thing, a foray into the shady and misunderstood world of crypto is a whole different ball game. Perhaps this is why it failed so spectacularly, as Welch has now inevitably learned, the power of fame can only carry you so far. Venturing into crypto is not, it seems, as simple as churning out a podcast episode.
The PR machine behind Welch messed up meddling with crypto but given how quickly she was shot from anonymity to celebrity, it is fair to expect a steep learning curve. Welch has denied allegations of Rug Pulling but responses have been mixed with claims she is lying and will have to ‘Talk Tuah Judge’. Whilst these tweets poke fun at the situation, time will tell whether Welch’s popularity recovers or some of the more serious allegations find firmer footing.
Is ‘Spotify Wrapped’ cooked?
Spotify Wrapped Day arrived this week - an opportunity for users to review a year in music, share their listening habits with friends, or a way to find some humour in Wrapped-related memes. It's a feature that has turned into a cultural phenomenon, which is the best case for any CEO or CTO. It is a brilliant vehicle for positive PR and requires little effort from the streaming service, especially when you consider the timeframe Spotify analyses is limited between January - October, hardly a year in review. Spotify further muddies the full picture by weighing streams in favour of Spotify playlists or Spotify Radio plays over streams of artists you've casually listened to over the 'year'. Wrapped is such a megahit feature that they don't even have to change the formula. It is largely the same viewing metrics spun under different glossy colours; for the poor sods that still listen to albums, Spotify still deprive us of that data.
On the other side of the coin, it's also been a successful year for Spotify's shareholders, especially CEO Daniel Ek, who celebrated the festive Wrapped period by cashing $37M in Spotify stock, taking this year's cash-out total to a cool $320m. Criticism of Ek is well documented at this point. The most damning is paying artists a measly $0.003 - $0.005 per stream, leaving only a tiny fraction of artists with the ability to earn a living from streaming alone. Ek has timed the latest cash-out period at a time when Spotify news is at its most positive - undoubtedly part of a calculated communications strategy. While most people are likely aware of Spotify's nefarious tactics, it's not enough to stop its users from boycotting the company. The service is simply too convenient, and until labels or artists take a stand, we're likely going to keep getting the bare minimum while Spotify's shareholders ride off into the sunset.