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Unless, of course, fans raise the call for an extreme but familiar measure: the write-in campaign.
The Academy doesnt recognize write-in votes.
In fact, itsbolded in the rulesfor this years ceremony.
But that doesnt stop people from trying.
While a lot of advocates are just doing it forthe Twitter joke, the conversation has occasionally skewed serious.
Thats because the Academy had to take a hard-line stance on the issue after a 1930s shocker.
In 1936, cinematographer Hal Mohr won an Oscar for his work onA Midsummer Nights Dream.
He was not on the ballot, and in fact one of several write-in candidates that year.
None of this would have happened if werent for Bette Davis.
It was a distinctly villainous role, and it earned Davis all the more credibility as an actress.
Bette Davis didnt give a damn about any of that!
She wanted to give honest characterizations.
But Daviss onscreen honesty did not translate into Academy recognition.
When the Oscar nominations were announced in February of 1935,Of Human Bondagewas overlooked.
They were downright livid, however, over the Davis snub.
It was anyones game and, with that, the campaign for Davis was officially on.
Daviss win would have to wait, though not for long.
She would win the next year for her performance inDangerous, in what many considered a consolation prize.
The following year, Warner Bros. went all-in.
He was not an official nominee, and his victory sparked an immediate call for change.
Members of the technical branch, who had been blindsided by Mohrs win, led the charge for reform.
They were successful, and by the next year, write-in voting had been eliminated.
Mohr would be the only write-in winner in history, a forever asterisk and source of annual Oscar trivia.
But his unprecedented win taught the Academy a valuable lesson in studio greed and manipulation.
