The best quote in Tom Teodorczuk‘s 1.26 Independent piece about Oscar campaigning is from The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Feinberg, to wit: “The deep, dark secret is that a lot of Academy members don’t watch a lot of the movies. To get them to watch the movies is the biggest challenge.” This can’t be repeated enough — whatever respect and credibility the Academy has among the cognoscenti is constantly being undermined by the deadwoods, who are generally older and sleepier and who tend to think and vote more conservatively.

My quote is nothing special: “Both Matthew McConaughey and Bruce Dern have [used] excellent personal stories” — I meant to say narratives — “that resonate. McConaughey is saying after almost going under by being in all those stupid romcoms, ‘you too can change and make a difference’. Dern is saying after years of playing supporting roles he finally gets to be the lead — ‘you too can be the leader in your own life’.”