The Oscar buzz has been in full swing since before January 24th, when the Academy nominations were officially announced. The actors, directors, producers, and others hoping to be recognized as the best and brightest in entertainment are now pulling out their tuxedos or gowns and awaiting the final vote. We’re pulling out our own Sysomos MAP social media monitoring tool. We took a look at the social stream for Best Movie nominees and compared the social media campaigns and buzz around each one. We took into account what you were saying online, both positive and negative, as well as how each movie is actively working its social media channels. Here is a rundown of what we found ...

2. Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz
The Oscar buzz has been in full swing since before January 24th, when the
Academy nominations were officially announced. The actors, directors, producers,
and others hoping to be recognized as the best and brightest in entertainment are
now pulling out their tuxedos or gowns and awaiting the final vote. We’re pulling out
our own Sysomos MAP social media monitoring tool.
We took a look at the social stream for Best Movie nominees and compared the
social media campaigns and buzz around each one. We took into account what you
were saying online, both positive and negative, as well as how each movie is
actively working its social media channels. Here is a rundown of what we found ...

3. 1. Hugo
Fantasy Comes to Life
Hugo has been described as an
interesting film that falls flat with online
mentions like “beautiful but boring”
popping up regularly. It has so much going
for it: Martin Scorsese as the director, Ben
Kingsley and Jude Law as lead actors, a
child protagonist, railroad trains, a foreign
locale, allegorical fantasy, and amazing
graphics.
We love Hugo’s online social media
presence. The website is visually
stunning, and is replete with share icons, a
comprehensive multichannel social media
footprint, and a strong call to action to get
the movie via On Demand or digital
download. For bringing fantasy to life
online via social media integration, we
salute Hugo.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

4. 2. The Tree of Life
Witness the World Created
The Tree of Life is another star studded
offering. The film features Brad Pitt (he’s
been a busy boy this season), Jessica
Chastain, and critically acclaimed Sean
Penn. They had us from the get-go with
the “Connect on Facebook” header on
the film’s website.
The official site is loaded with videos and
share buttons. The video library
documents the film’s casting process,
features the stars discussing the intricate
symbolism within the story, shows the
behind-the-scenes special effects
process and more. If you want to get
inside the mind of the creators of this
film, it’s all here. We love that social
media is threaded throughout the entire
creation process.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

5. 3. War Horse
A Runaway Star
Combine a majestic animal, world famous
director Stephen Spielberg, a World War I
period piece playing on patriotic emotions,
and you have some serious social media
buzz potential. Unfortunately, not all of it
was positive.
The online sentiment outlook for War
Horse is definitely not as rosy as the other
films featured here. Blogs, forums, and to
a lesser extent traditional news sources,
contributed a relatively high 45% negative
skew compared to the film’s relatively low
positive overall sentiment rating of only
71%. Most comments noted the
manipulative sentimentality of the story as
a downfall, so the message was clear: You
don’t consider this a runaway smash. Let’s
see if the Academy agrees.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

6. 4. Moneyball
Victory for the Underdog
A movie with Brad Pitt is bound to be a
likely contender. Add in sports, a fresh new
star, and toss in some innovative statistical
analysis and you’ve got a strong option. As
far back as a nearly a year ago, Moneyball
was seeing plenty of online buzz.
The movie itself barely got made, so it
literally embodies the underdog story it
portrays. On the movie’s Facebook page, it
features the story behind the story. It also
features interactive polls, a game, multiple
calls to action, and you can download
wallpaper for your desktop from the official
website. Celebs were tweeting about it
when it opened and social media analysis
shows that you have been, too.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

7. 5. The Artist
Silent Films Glorified
The word cloud for “best picture of the
year” is alive with mentions of The Artist,
a black-and-white tribute to the bygone
Silver Screen days of silent films.
One of the hottest topics online about
this film centers around starlet Bérénice
Bejo. She is being lauded as a potential
spoiler for Best Actress in a Supporting
Role. Online chatter about her comes in
at a high 93% favorable rating, with a
huge portion of the talk coming not just
from traditional news sources, but also
from forums and blogs. Bejo is lighting
up the Silver Screen and the social
sphere in a big way.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

8. 6. The Help
A Cultural Touchstone Comes with Controversy
The online sentiment rating for this
particular movie was 90% positive, but
the topics the movie covers have
generated a lot of debate and
conversation around race, historical
realism, and societal class distinctions.
Blogs, social, and traditional media alike
are contributing big time to the buzz.
The movie’s Facebook page hosts over
700K fans, but it was Wendell Pierce’s
Twitter stream that recently grabbed the
most attention. He was critical of the
film’s light treatment of racial issues in
the South and his view is shared by lots
of fans. Accurate enough or not, this film
has stimulated engaged dialogue and
that is a big win from our point of view.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

9. 7. Midnight in Paris
A Magical Stroll Through the Past
Midnight in Paris wanders back through
time via a Cinderella style magical twist to
the Golden Days of Art and Innovation. A
return to film by writer and director Woody
Allen, the movie is seeing some online
love, but others are slamming it pretty hard
on social media.
This film comes in with a 93% satisfaction
rating on RottenTomatoes.com, but what
we found interesting is the debate online
between fans of nostalgic sentimentality
and post-modern intellectualism. Allen is
known for both and this film embodies that
dichotomy. Detractors say the mix doesn’t
work in this film and that it’s overrated. We
doubt it will win Best Picture, but it is jam
packed with respected stars—so judge for
yourself.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

10. 8. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
9/11 Story of Loss and Redemption
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
should be a runaway winner, if cast and
crew are any indication. Unfortunately, the
pieces might not add up to the prize on
Oscar night.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
comes in with only two stars and a
relatively low 45% critic approval on
RottenTomatoes.com. Star power from
Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock doesn’t
seem to be saving this one from harsh
criticism, either. Its online sentiment is a
relatively low 77%, but most of the positive
ratings actually read as neutral remarks.
When no one cares or cares enough to
say something good, you have a problem
—and that’s more evident online than
anywhere else.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

11. 9. The Descendants
More Star Power
George Clooney in a starring vehicle
ranks alongside any Brad Pitt feature,
both in terms of box office draw and
Academy appeal. Another film via Fox
Searchlight, The Descendants’ online
presence is quite similar to The Tree of
Life, with an adept social media outreach
seen across a variety of channels.
Unlike Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close, the online sentiment numbers for
The Descendants, a drama set in Hawaii,
is actively positive. It has racked up
strong blog and forum comments, and is
doing a very good job utilizing traditional
media. Perhaps the credit belongs to Fox
Searchlight rather than the film itself, but
the studio’s marketers certainly have the
conversation buzzing with a 86% positive
sentiment level. Aloha, George!
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

12. 10. Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer vs. Jessica Chastain
The online conversation around
nominations often buzzes with
contention about “obvious” versus
“worthy” choices. Since we feature 10
picks and there are nine Best Picture
nominees, the conversation about Best
Actress in a Supporting Role nominees
Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain
is our tenth buzzworthy selection.
The themes around this vary. Some
claim that since The Help’s Chastain is
also in The Tree of Life, the award
should go to Spencer. Some worry that
awarding Chastain in a movie about
African American domestic help could
be seen as racist, regardless of
performance. This type of conversation
is exactly the point on social media,
where controversy often drives dialog.
Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz

13. Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz
And, the Winner Is…
Many commenting online say the system the Academy uses to pick winners is
flawed and needs to be updated. It’s the same argument we’ve all heard about
the Grammy Awards, in which the ethos of letting aging stars and industry
veterans pick a modern, relevant winner seems to be losing its traction. If the
Oscar’s lagging ratings in past years are any indication, there may be some merit
to this point of view. We’ll see if this Sunday’s ratings continue the trend.
More than ever, the most interesting part of the online conversation is what you
are saying. Social media lets the citizens on the street (or in the theater) have
their say, so we nominate you to pick the winner. Let us know who you think will
win Best Picture and post it below.
To read all the Pulses and other Slideshare.net presentations, click here.

14. Oscar Winners 2.0:
10 Nominees Driving Pre-Oscar Buzz
Next on “The Pulse”:
Thumbs Up: 10 Favorite Agency Twitter Accounts
THE PULSE:
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