In last week’s Best Supporting Actress contenders gallery, I mentioned how farcical it was that Felicity Jones was being campaigned in that category for her inarguable lead performance in the title role of Ralph Fiennes’ biographical romance “The Invisible Woman” — category fraud is a fixture of the race now, but some calls are still too dishonest to let stand. Evidently, enough people agreed for Sony Classics to let common sense prevail, as Scott Feinberg reports that the company has switched Jones’ campaign to a leading one. A small victory on principle, then — though Jones is unlikely to be nominated either way for her strong work in the film. (Now, how about an honest supporting campaign for Jones’ superb co-star Joanna Scanlan?) [Hollywood Reporter]
The Academy claims the electronic voting process has been streamlined this year. [Variety]
Jared Leto discusses getting into character for his Oscar-tipped role as a transsexual in “Dallas Buyers Club.” [New York Times]
Kate Erbland on why many of the industry’s most promising screenwriters are turning to adaptations. [Film.com]
“The Lunchbox” star Irrfan Khan joins the chorus criticizing India’s submission of “The Good Road” for the Oscar. [Screen Daily]
I gather this is an interesting Michael Phillips piece about the role production design plays in “12 Years a Slave” … but it’s available only to US readers. Uh, okay. [Chicago Tribune]
“Philomena,” “Nebraska” and “12 Years a Slave” are among the titles selected for the AARP’s Movies For Grown-ups Festival. [LA Times]
A great discussion about horror movies, and how they still work on us. [The Dissolve]
As you may have noticed, today’s Google doodle pays tribute to the most Academy-awarded woman of all time. [The Independent]
In a sad week for notable passings, that of “Priest” director Antonia Bird, 54, was particularly untimely. [The Guardian]