12 Oscar-Season Lessons, From the Nominees

Seventy-two hours after this year’s Academy Award nominations were announced, we convened eight nominees to discuss what was on their minds. And there was a lot! From an upstart ingenue like Alicia Vikander, tapped for Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl, to a veteran producer like Steve Golin, who has two films (Spotlight and The Revenant) competing for Best Picture; and from a writer like Andrea Berloff, who co-scripted the unexpected blockbuster Straight Outta Compton, to documentary director Liz Garbus, nominated for her defiant and heartbreaking What Happened, Miss Simone?, all the assembled were equally eager to share their insights about the craziness (and necessity) of Oscar campaigning, the omnipresent diversity issue, recent changes to the movie business, and—says Bryan Cranston—why you have to be ready to win. - Stacey Wilson Hunt and Kyle Buchanan

1. There’s More Pressure Than Ever to Win

Steve Golin: [A win] makes a difference at the box office. There are a lot of elements to this. Obviously the studios want to win awards. If a movie wins certain awards, it’s a more important movie down the line, and, as actors will testify, [studios] will send them to supermarket openings [to campaign] if they let them. There’s no question that it’s gotten kind of out of hand. But look, there’s an element of trust that goes into giving somebody all that money to make the movie. When you’re successful, people feel more confident that you might be successful again. So obviously everybody wants to win.

2. Inside Out Should Be Up for Best Picture