Oscar bait nominated for Oscars. For that reason studios plan their Oscar promotional campaigns long before the movie is even released. It has been estimated that The Weinstein Company spent $15 million on its Oscar campaign for "The King's Speech", almost as much as was spent on the Oscar campaign of Weinstein-produced 1998 Best Picture Winner "Shakespeare in Love". Actors, too, benefit at least financially from Oscar wins. Agents and managers estimate that their clients can get as much as 20% more money for their next projects if they win an Oscar or at least received a nomination. Natalie Portman was expected
Oscar bait play and that neither of its stars had ever been nominated for an Academy Award before, whereas "The Wrestler" had several aspects often associated with Oscar bait: a sports movie with a character making a last-chance comeback, played by an actor making a comeback who physically transformed himself for the role. "The difference is the presumptive maleness," Harris reiterated. "[It] permanently exempts a director like Darren Aronofsky from charges of making Oscar bait, but consigns Ron Howard to that category for his whole career." "Critics of the phrase Oscar bait might tell you that making movies is already too difficult