It's time for Oscar campaigns to go negative

On Twitter: @JamesEppler

Anyone who follows the Oscars closely knows it's not always the best work that wins. Sometimes a movie has been marketed in just the right way to get votes. But if we've learned anything from this Republican race for the presidential nomination, it's that negative ads work.

The primary in Florida was one of the most negative campaigns ever waged. Both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney spent tens of millions of dollars attacking each other on the airwaves. More than 95 percent of all the ads that ran were negative.

So maybe Oscar nominees should adopt that strategy. Wouldn't you love to see Best Actress nominee Viola Davis from "The Help" go after Meryl Streep for her work in "The Iron Lady?"

Every now and then you'll visit a movie-centric Web site and see the "For Your Consideration" ads and banners. What if we had "For Your Disdain" ads?

Here are ten good ideas:

-Best Picture nominee "The Descendants": A sad excuse for George Clooney to take a Hawaiian vacation!

-Best Actor nominee Jean Dujardin, "The Artist": A performance so lazy he couldn't be bothered to memorize lines!

-Best Actress nominee Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady": Margaret Thatcher herself says she was ashamed of Streep's portrayal of her! (Remember, attack ads don't have to use accurate information in politics. Ms. Thatcher has been dead since 2003, but it still sounds damning.)

-Best Director nominee Martin Scorsese: The director of "Goodfellas" and "Raging Bull" is coming after your kids!

-Best Picture nominee "Midnight in Paris": Woody Allen hates America!

-Best Supporting Actor nominee Jonah Hill: Seriously? Jonah Hill in "Moneyball?" I mean, he was good, but c'mon. (Understated, but I think that's how a lot of us feel.)

-Best Picture nominee "The Tree of Life": You shouldn't vote for a movie when you don't know what the hell it's about.

-Best Supporting Actress nominee Melissa McCarthy: You're gonna vote for sink-pooping?

-Best Supporting Actor Nick Nolte: Does this look Oscar-worthy?




-Best Picture nominee "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close": If you vote for this sappy 9/11 drama, the terrorists win.


The Oscar votes are due Monday, Feb. 20. There's still time to get a leg up on the competition, nominees. Let the mud-slinging begin.