It's funny to think about why this would be the case, but at first blush my instinct is to say that cases of "category fraud" tend to go in opposite directions between the Tonys and the Oscars. Big name actors (or showy parts, like Trunchbull) in supporting roles tend to petition to Lead; at the Oscars, they'd rather lowball themselves to muscle into a potentially easier category to show-off in. Kristine Nielsen's nomination last year was one of the few Tony examples I can think of lately of a Lead role being scuttled to Supporting/Featured, but she just had a borderline role and a much, much better chance of winning.
Whereas this happens all the time at the Oscars. Philip Seymour Hoffman in DOUBT. Bérénice Bejo in THE ARTIST. Hailee Steinfeld in TRUE GRIT. Jennifer Hudson, of course.
Maybe I'm missing all the counterexamples as I focus on this pattern, but it's interesting to me to say the least.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
