Someone’s always bound to get upset when Oscar nominations land, but this year, the tables turned with part of the Hollywood establishment growing irked. That much was evident during the audible gasp prompted by a surprise nomination for Andrea Riseborough’s turn as an alcoholic, spiraling single mother in To Leslie. Her co-star, Marc Maron (who portrays a motel manager), already spoke against the backlash, and the comedian and popular podcaster made clear that he supported Riseborough’s grassroots campaign and pointed out how it fired up the Academy because it “threatens their system that they’re completely bought out by corporate interests in the form of studios.”
Maron’s currently promoting his new HBO comedy special, From Bleak To Dark, so he’s been out there discussing both tragic subject matter along with lighter things like his Avatar 2 audition. Maron also took a turn as an advice columnist, and now he’s circling back to his faith in Andrea Riseborough.
During a visit with Howard Stern on Sirius XM, Maron laughingly admitted that he initially signed onto the movie during COVID because “somehow, they had convinced me that doing the movie would be safer than going to the supermarket,” but then, he realized what a powerhouse performance Riseborough was giving, and his attitude turned toward “Don’t fuck this up for Andrea, alright? Just do whatever you’ve got to do to be there for her.” While also expressing relief that “thank God I did okay,” Maron discussed how much panic Andrea’s nomination is causing:
“When an underdog kind of sneaks around the side, the people that spent millions of dollars panic and they have to explain themselves, so they start sh*t,” the actor said of the controversy. “If [the Academy] has an issue with how things are supposed to transpire on social media platforms, you know, update your rules behind closed doors and change it for next year.”
Maron makes a solid point, of course. Rather than the Academy declaring that an “investigation” must be had because Andrea received bushels of support from friends including Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett, there should have been a more clear-cut set of rules instead. Because aren’t the Oscars supposed to be about the acting and none of the political stuff (silly rabbit)? Whatever happens, this should make for an awkward category on March 12, when the Oscars arrive on ABC.
(Via Sirius XM on YouTube)