Amanda Seyfried Ruled Out of Three Acting Races for You Can See Everything
Amanda Seyfried has been ruled ineligible for acting awards at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Actor Awards for You Can See Everything, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her distributor, A24, has decided not to appeal the Actor Awards decision. It is focusing on an Oscar nomination instead.
The film is a documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, but it does not rely on real footage alone. It blends traditional documentary techniques with reenactments, and Seyfried plays Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in those scenes. That mix is at the heart of the awards problem. No performance in a documentary has ever been nominated by a major awards group, the trade paper reported.
Each group sets its own rules, and they do not agree. The Critics Choice Awards deemed Seyfried eligible for best supporting actress. The Actor Awards are run by SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union, which encouraged A24 to file a formal appeal to qualify her. A24 chose not to.
The Oscars work differently. Academy rules for best documentary feature say that films entered in that category may also qualify in other categories if they meet specified requirements. Acting eligibility falls to the Academy's Actors Branch Executive Committee, which has the right and responsibility to settle all such questions. A24 says representatives of that committee have assured it there is no reason to believe Seyfried will not be cleared for Oscar eligibility.
Seyfried has an Oscar nomination already. She received one for the 2020 film Mank. In her first one-on-one interview about You Can See Everything, she said she is excited to campaign for the film and for her performance.
The film's box-office run is a separate story. It has become only the fourth documentary to top the domestic box office, meaning the United States and Canada. It has grossed more than $80 million worldwide, the trade paper reported. It also swept the Critics Choice Documentary Awards.
Awards bodies have to decide where a film like this belongs, and this one has landed on two tracks at once. The documentary category has a long record of recognising real-life subjects. The acting categories have a long record of recognising performers. Seyfried's reenactments sit right in the gap between them, and the Academy's committee now holds the key to whether that gap closes in her favour.
