Nowadays Marisa Tomei is best-known for her work in The Marvel Cinematic Universe, but back in the 1990s, she was seen as the woman who didn't deserve the Oscar. This is far from what any actor would like to be known for. After all, before she became Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies, Marisa was doing some truly stellar work. This includes her Academy Award-winning performance in My Cousin Vinny.
Before the 1992 film, which was roughly inspired by real events, Marisa was a busy working actor. But there's no doubt My Cousin Vinny made her a superstar. Still, to this day, movie fans don't believe she deserved to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In fact, there's a major conspiracy theory suggesting that she wasn't even supposed to have her name called...
Marisa Tomei's Oscar Conspiracy
Marisa Tomei was up against some acting heavyweights at the 1993 Academy Awards. This includes Joan Plowright (Enchanted April), Judy Davis (Husbands And Wives), Vanessa Redgrave (Howard's End), and Miranda Richardson (Damage). But it was Marisa who took home the coveted (and invaluable) trophy.
Following her win (and to this very day) a conspiracy theory circulated. This theory spread like wildfire through the champagne-soaked streets of Hollywood, causing Marisa to address it head-on in the press. There's no doubt that she was hurt by the belief that her name wasn't even supposed to be called.
The urban legend is that Oscar presenter (Shane and City Slickers star) Jack Palance was intoxicated when he announced the winner. Instead of saying Vanessa Redgrave's name, he blurted out Marisa's. Of course, if this had happened, the producers of the Academy Awards would have rushed the stage and made the correction. This is, after all, what happened during the La La Land/Moonlight debacle in 2017.
"That urban legend is really cruel and unfair to Marisa. It’s a completely bogus, silly conspiracy theory. Completely ridiculous," My Cousin Vinny producer Paul Schiff said during an oral history by Rolling Stone.
Did Marisa Tomei Deserve To Win An Oscar?
The answer to this question is in the eye of the beholder. Polls on IMDb suggest that Marisa didn't deserve to win for playing Mona Lisa Vito, Joe Pesci's fiery partner. Then again, the film (as well as her performance) still has millions of fans while some of the work Marisa was up against has faded into the recesses of the minds of only the most obsessed movie-lovers.
My Cousin Vinny made more money than all of the movies it was up against in that category. And people are still talking about Marisa's performance, regardless of what the context of it is.
"For the nine months before the nomination, everyone told me that they loved the film. They’d go, 'And who was that amazing woman playing Lisa?'" My Cousin Vinny director Jonathan Lynn said to Rolling Stone. "Everybody in the business asked me that question. I wasn’t surprised when she was nominated. We all know that comedy is harder than drama or tragedy, but they give almost all the awards to drama and tragedies."
"I have a theory about it," Paul Schiff added. "When it came out, it was the first or second year that videotapes were distributed to Academy members, so they could sit in their homes and watch all the movies for nominations and the ultimate awards. That year, there were a couple of Merchant-Ivory movies and some very highbrow, pedigreed, important films. I’m not sure that the Academy membership would have gone out to see My Cousin Vinny in a theater, but I know they did watch it on video at home. I think we really benefited from that. Academy members wanted to take a break after watching some very serious movies and check out this comedy."
How Marisa Tomei Was Cast In My Cousin Vinny
In the Rolling Stone oral history of the making of My Cousin Vinny, director Jonathan Lynn stated that the hardest part of the casting process was finding the right person to play opposite Joe Pesci as Mona Lisa Vito.
"The studio offered it to any Italian American they could think of with any name value. They all passed. I think they thought the part wasn’t big enough," Jonathan stated. "I started auditioning lots of people. They all came in to read, and nobody was right. I was getting very worried. By chance, John Landis phoned and said, 'I’m finishing shooting Oscar this week,' which was a film with Sylvester Stallone and Danny DeVito. 'Would you like to come down to Paramount and look at the amazing set before it’s broken down?' I said sure. Marisa came onto the set and did her little scene. I said to John, 'Who is this? She’s really good.' She was playing a 1920s blonde flapper, nothing at all like Lisa, but I could see she had good timing."
"I said to Fox [studios], 'I know who I’m going to cast.' They said, 'We want to see a screen test of your first three choices.' I said, 'OK.' We did a test of three women, including Marisa," Jonathan continued. "Then I took the test to Joe Pesci, who was filming Goodfellas. I said, 'I’ve got these three screen tests. I want you to know if you think it’s the same person I think it is.' He said, 'Yeah, Marisa Tomei.' I said, 'Right, I agree.' I then went to Fox. They picked somebody else from the screen test. We had an argument with the president of the studio for about half an hour. Finally, I produced my trump card. I said, 'Joe Pesci thinks it should be Marisa.' Studios never want to have a fight with a leading actor, especially shortly before a film begins. There was a pause and then he said, 'Look, it’s your film. You cast who you want.'"
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