Deadline Hollywood reported on Friday that Stone Ridge actress and Oscar favorite Melissa Leo personally paid for ads in the Hollywood trade press.“I took matters into my own hands. I knew what I was doing and told my representation how earnest I was about this idea. I had never heard of any actor taking out an ad as themselves and I wanted to give it a shot."“I am quite certain I have not overstepped any boundaries of the Academy," Leo told Deadline's Pete Hammond.
The snarky guys at Gawker are not happy, though: "she seems like a secretly vain person who now finally has a reason to go public with it," wrote Richard Lawson.
Ouch.
Leo also has a website now.
UPDATE: The New York Times chimes in: "as the front-runner in her category, why did she risk overreaching?"
Her response to the gray lady?
"This entire awards process to some degree is about pimping yourself out."
