The life of a stan can be frenzied, committed and, at times, arduous. One minute, you’re in the back pocket of your favourite artist, privy to secret announcements before the rest of the world gets to hear them (we’re looking at you @GagaDaily!), the next, you’re like Lorde Brasil in 2020, starved of content. Even worse, you could be Dianna Agron Updates, retiring your account because your favourite just won’t do anything worth writing about (“Good luck to her promoting [that jazz album] without us,” a recent tweet from the now-retired account read).
In the midst of a movie’s awards campaign, visibility is everything, and while studios pump tens of millions of dollars into it—for marketing, publicists, stylists, travel—fans online sit behind their phones and eagerly await new information they can post about. I wondered what they’d say if they had been able to throw their two cents into the ring in the same way stars sit down at round tables, or do post-film Q&As. What part do they play in this expensive ecosystem?
So, ahead of the Oscars, I tracked down as many fan accounts, update accounts, or active twitter campaigners as I could to ask them how they felt about this year’s race. Were they dealing with the same backlash their star’s movie had, be it AI, intimacy coordinators or flat out cancellation? Was anyone getting too *much* shine, or not enough? How did they feel about Karla Sofía Gascón’s rise from the ashes, to appear at the ceremony this coming Sunday? And was there a purpose to all of this? Can a stan account’s reposts of red carpet pics have the same impact as a billboard on Sunset Boulevard?
The search for participants wasn’t as straightforward as you might think. Many of Adrien Brody’s stan accounts hadn’t been updated since 2014. Fernanda Torres, the Brazilian star of I’m Still Here, snuck into the race last minute but has the unwavering support of her online community, who were too busy to get back to my DMs. Gascón’s sole stan account had gone on private since her tweet scandal scuppered her chances of taking home a statue. The most ardent queen of the stan world, Ms. Club Chalamet, was asked to take part in this story, but politely declined. Thankfully Derek, the OG Timmy stan, who gained notoriety for wishing the actor a good morning and a good night on X every day for years, stepped in to save the day instead.
I decided to hold a DM group chat with these stans and update accounts to see if we could get to the bottom of it all.
Honestly, I expected war: cat fights over who deserved the big prize, a little bitchiness about some overhyped stars. But the participants didn’t seem so interested in taking the bait. They were civil and engaged, interested in the cinema. Derek (@timotheechalamt), the OG Timmy stan, predates Club Chalamet in his internet notoriety. Yasmine (@filmwithyas) has a storied history as a Sebastian Stan supporter. @fckysckybrigade is leading Kieran Culkin’s Oscar campaign from the world of X. Wicked Updates (@GalindaHQ) is out here in Ariana and Cynthia’s corner. @myfairslady is here repping Colman for Sing Sing and @dailyofmikeym is Anora star Mikey Madison’s update account!
Here is a condensed transcription of my group chat with the fans standing behind this year’s acting nominees at the Oscars.
Hello everyone! Think of this as an actor’s round table, albeit from your perspective. We’re gathering here to vouch for your favourites: Who you ride for and why you feel like, this Sunday, they should win an Oscar.
First off – can we get a sense of how we’re feeling about our individual favourites? Do we think your fave is in with a chance?
@galindahq (Cynthia Erivo/Ariana Grande): Hey, I’m rooting for Cynthia Erivo! Despite her winning none of the pre-Oscar awards I’m still holding out hope that The Academy recognises her performance as Elphaba. If not her, I could totally see Demi Moore getting the Oscar.
@dailyofmikeym (Mikey Madison): Mikey winning the BAFTA was very important for the Oscar race. Also I think she has very good chances to win this Sunday’s Oscar over Demi Moore since Anora won big awards such as PGA, DGA, WGA and Critics. It could potentially influence people to vote for Mikey Madison as Best Actress since she’s the face of the movie.
@fckysckybrigade (KC): I definitely think Kieran has a big shot at winning. Supporting Actor roles are often misconstrued, in my opinion; I’ve heard a lot of people saying he had too much screen time, but that isn’t the case. It’s also crudely unfair to assume Kieran is like all of his characters naturally and diminish all of the work he’s put into this. I genuinely think a big reason as to why he wasn’t getting big awards prior to Succession was because of his personality, which unfortunately people let bleed into their judgement of someone’s performance despite not knowing them personally.
@timotheechalamt (Timothée Chalamet): Hello! I definitely am more positive about Timothée winning following his SAG award win. Prior to, I was a bit more doubtful due to Adrien Brody winning the Globe, Critics Choice and BAFTA. It feels like a race now!
@myfairslady (Colman Domingo): Hi, I am rooting for Colman Domingo but I do think that the race is currently a toss up between Adrien and Timothée for Best Actor right now.
@filmwithyas (Sebastian Stan): I’m in a similar space – I think the Golden Globe for A Different Man is going to be Sebastian’s sole accolade this season and the race is down to the two mentioned.
Why have you given up, Yaz? Sebastian’s playing the US President in his early days. Don’t you think the Trump of it all feels more prescient?
@filmwithyas (SS): I think if the Actors on Actors scenario is anything to go by [EN: Stan said he couldn’t partake in the awards-friendly video series from The Hollywood Reporter because no one wanted to be paired with him, owing to him playing Donald Trump], the majority of people who vote for the acting awards don’t like how they would be perceived for rewarding it.
@fckysckybrigade (KC): I think the round table was definitely a revelation in this aspect. There’s still quite a barrier there that lots of people aren’t willing to push against when it comes to award season.
Even if it’s a critical portrayal?
@fckysckybrigade (KC): I think that’s even more of a reason for people not to want to vote for that particular role.
“I personally think 13 nominations for Emilia Perez was absurd”
@galindahq
Who do we think missed out on nominations?
@fckysckybrigade (KC): I’m still a firm believer that the score for Challengers should’ve been nominated. No idea how it didn’t.
@dailyofmikeym (MM): I would say Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Hard Truths, her performance was so good.
@timotheechalamt (TC): Agreed, Marianne Jean-Baptiste for sure! One of the worst snubs. Challengers definitely deserved a few, including score.
@myfairslady (CD): Clarence Maclin should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Sing Sing should have received a Best Picture nomination.
@filmwithyas (SS): Not that it was ever even a snub per say but Josh O’Connor should have been nominated everywhere for Challengers and I will die on that hill.
Is there a film you think is overrepresented?
@galindahq (CE/AG): I personally think 13 nominations for Emilia Perez was absurd. There’s so many movies worthy of Oscar nominations in my eyes. I watched it twice but I still can’t wrap my mind around it. I think people would agree with me.
@myfairslady (CD): I agree.
“I wouldn’t necessarily want Mikey to interact with Karla Sofía Gascón”
@dailyofmikeym, a mikey madison updates account
Karla Sofía Gascón will be at the Oscars on Netflix’s dime. How do you think your chosen actor should treat her at the ceremony?
@galindahq (CE/AG): I’m not sure that there’s a right answer to be honest. She’s such a hateful person and sees no issue with it. I quoted one of her posts and said she should be ashamed and she blocked me. So I’m sure she doesn’t care what people think of her. I’m sure people will be polite but I doubt anyone will be rushing to interact with her.
@dailyofmikeym (MM): I don’t think there will be genuine interactions with people at the Oscars following her scandal. She destroyed her image.
If your favourite was pictured with her, how would you feel?
@dailyofmikeym (MM): I wouldn’t necessarily want Mikey to interact with her but if there was any interaction with Karla, I just think she will just be nice and polite towards her. I still don’t think Karla is a good person at all. I wouldn’t want that to happen.
@myfairslady (CD): I think Colman will have good judgement in that situation, all we can do is wait and see.
@fckysckybrigade (KC): Kieran has a long history of quietly showing his support for anti Trump/pro LGBTQ, along with many other things. I think if this did happen, he’d also have good judgement.
How often have you found yourselves defending your favourite this season?
@fckysckybrigade (KC): lmao quite a few times actually. It’s mostly just people trying to make up beef between Kieran and Jeremy Strong, and people can’t separate Kieran from his characters. They call him a lazy actor when he’s actually been very vocal about his process and how he works. I’m sure if he acted differently people would be calling him conceited, which is what Jeremy Strong gets flack for.
@timotheechalamt (TC): There hasn’t been any scandals related to the film or performance, but as with every film it is subjective which does result in hate comments, but I stay away from them as much as possible to not give it any attention.
@dailyofmikeym (MM): I mean for Mikey, the intimacy coordinator [controversy] was huge for a while. Blaming her decision she made with her team and her coworkers prior to shooting scenes, people were quick to point fingers at her only. I think this “scandal” was hard to defend because people are still trying to portray her as a victim to this day. I wish people understood the situation better before assuming she refused without thinking about it. Personally, I still think it should be mandatory, but it wasn’t my decision to make.
“Update accounts do God’s work”
@filmwithyas
Is it pissing anyone off how little the Academy seems to be watching?
@myfairslady (CD): Yes, incredibly so. It’s completely anti-art and unprofessional.
@galindahq (CE/AG): Yeah, it would explain a lot lol. In my opinion––maybe this is wrong––I feel every voter should be looped in on both the artistic intent and the social outcome of each film nominated. It’s like ten movies total. It’s not hard.
@fckysckybrigade (KC): That’s like, your sole job. How can you sit and attempt to judge anything without watching AND comparing it to the other nominees?
Last question: do you think the work you do has an impact on how these campaigns play out in any way?
@galindahq (CE/AG): I definitely think so! A lot of us have been pretty successful in promoting the films–from personal experience i know myself and a few of my Wicked friends have had massive success gathering millions of interactions across our platforms promoting the film over the last few years, and it’s definitely had an impact on the public’s perception of the artists we admire. Wicked would be huge regardless of this fandom or not. I just wish the awards voters would see the cultural impact it’s had.
@myfairslady (CD): I’ve definitely been getting Colman’s name out there but I also don’t have many followers so I can only do so much. He already won by getting a nomination so I’m content with that. I just wish the Academy felt the same way that a lot of other people do. I also wish that campaigning wasn’t such a huge factor in making these decisions. The work should speak for itself.
@dailyofmikeym (MM): It creates visibility. Mikey doesn’t have social media, so I try my best to post anything related to her: interviews, incoming projects, events, anything. So I think yes, we do have an impact on these campaigns.
@fckysckybrigade (KC): I don’t know about my own personal impact since I’m a small account but I definitely agree with the idea that fan accounts help with just spreading the talent and the films we might not have watched otherwise. I started watching Succession because of [X] and while I was a Culkin fan before that, seeing the show and the talents of all the people involved was amazing. There’s so much art in the world that people go without seeing because they never hear about it.
@filmwithyas (SS): Update accounts do God’s work.
Thank you for your service! Good luck on Sunday.