I first noticed actress Jenna Boyd in William Freidkin’s ultra violent “The Hunted.” Her relationship with the psychologically tormented Benicio Del Toro was the one touch of humanity in a Ramboesque horror film. The fine acting and moving cinematic relationship between Miss Boyd and Mr. Del Toro couldn’t overcome Freidkin’s decision to sink his film with an illogical bloodbath. More recently, I noticed Jenna Boyd’s work once more. This time, Miss Boyd was the highlight of Ron Howard’s gargantuan misfire “The Missing.” While I didn’t make mention of Miss Boyd in my review of “The Hunted,” I felt I would have been remiss if I didn’t mention how wonderful the young actress was in Ron Howard’s film.

REVIEW EXCERPT FROM “THE MISSING”:

Postscript: I would be remiss in my duties if I did not point out the wonderful performance by the spunky child actress Jenna Boyd. I believed that Miss Boyd had actually been raised in the hardscrabble world of the Wild West frontier. Miss Boyd has a gut-wrenching scene with Cate Blanchett in which she describes what she heard during the massacre of the ranch hands. She is able to translate the horror she experienced in a powerful way. She avoids all of the pitfalls that many young actress fall into. She is never coy or artificial. Her responses are appropriate to the stimuli her character comes in contact with. I don't know if Miss Boyd is a natural actor or the world's youngest method actor. I do know that she shows a maturity beyond her years.

Today an ad appeared in “The Hollywood Reporter” asking Oscar voters to consider Miss Boyd for a Best Supporting Oscar nomination. This got me to thinking about the tradition of Oscar Campaigns. It is no secret that Oscars mean box office. Studios spend a large amount of money courting voters. It is also no secret that there have been many Oscars awarded to lessor contenders. Many articles have been written over the years about ‘overlooked performances.’ Oscar nominations can be purchased. John Gregory Dunne’s book “The Studio” chronicled FOX’s campaign to get nominations for the huge box-office failure “Dr. Dolittle.” It is a cynically enjoyable read. The campaign mounted by John Wayne for his make-it-or-break it film “The Alamo” is the stuff of legend. It wasn’t until co-star Chill Wills went too far, that John Wayne woke up to the outrageousness of the film’s campaign.

On the other hand, an Oscar campaign is a good way for under dogs to be noticed. Cher and Beverly D’Angelo took out ads with their own personal money on behalf of Cher’s “Mask” co-star Eric Stolz. Mr. Stolz performance was worthy of Oscar consideration, but the studio chose not to support Mr. Stolz. This year there has been controversy concerning “screeners” for Academy Voters. The MPAA has ‘banned’ screeners for Oscar voters to combat piracy. This smells of big-studio fear, in that great inroads have been made by indie filmmakers since the digital revolution. This move puts pressure on voters to actually leave their houses and go see many small budget films. This leaves print ads as the equalizer. Voters read the trades. You have to get your face in front of the voters.

All of these thoughts ran through my mind when I saw Miss Boyd’s ad. Another thought also crossed my mind. Many have won the Oscar when another should have. I still get my hackles up when I think about the Best Supporting Oscar race for the Class of 79. Robert Duvall delivered the best performance by an actor in a supporting role as Col. Kilgore in “Apocalypse Now!” Melvyn Douglas won for “Being There.” He was one of the old guard. He was also dying. He won the Oscar. I challenge you to try and remember anything about Mr. Douglas’s performance. Mr. Douglas was a fine actor. His daughter is a fine actor. His performance in “Being There” was NOT better than Duvall’s. End of story. As a film fan I have often been so touched by a performance that I wished I had the money to take out an ad for someone myself.

When all had been considered, I smiled when I saw Miss Boyd’s ad. I thought, ‘You go girl!’ It’s not because Miss Boyd is an award winning skater and all three of my kids skate (my son is a Hockey Goalie!). It’s not because Miss Boyd’s performance made an otherwise irritating film bearable. IT was because her performance transcended the material. Miss Boyd was able to do what all actors strive for. She inhabited her role. I believed that I was watching a child who had been raised in a rough and merciless environment. She portrayed pioneer spunk in a way that reminded me of Elisha Cook JR’s performance in “Shane.” Miss Boyd’s character didn’t take crap off of anyone. Like Yoda, she dared you to judge her by her size. If you do, you will come up with the short end of the stick. There was a time, when a ‘child’ winning an Oscar was a novelty. Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Shirley Temple all received special Oscars when they were kids. These had more to do with the huge amount of money they brought the studios than their acting abilities. Things changed with Tatum O’Neal’s performance in “Paper Moon.” Anna Paquin in “The Piano” also proved that pint sized thespians have what it takes to compete head to head with more seasoned performers. So I guess the point of all of this is that Jenna Boyd delivered a great performance, even if the overall film left the viewer wanting. Should Jenna Boyd be rewarded because she is a child? No. That would be a hypocritical statement after what I said about Melvyn Douglas in “Being There.” Jenna Boyd should be rewarded because she inhabited the skin of a person who never existed and brought them to life. I guess I finally get to take out an ad for someone I think is worthy of an Oscar nomination (No, this is not a paid endorsement!). I hope the voters take the time to look at her work. I hope the little rascal gets to run up on the stage and thank the Academy.

Rusty White