Since MGM first dropped an Oscar advertisement for “Ah, Wilderness!” in 1935, awards season has continued to cost Hollywood producers a pretty penny. But it took Harvey Weinstein’s tenure at Miramax to revolutionize it.

The Weinstein brothers took their Oscar campaigns to the next level in the latter half of the 90s, chasing Oscar voters across Los Angeles to send directors, actresses, and shiny objects to wine and dine them. They would hire a small army of the town’s top publicists to lobby the academy and smear the competition while spending millions on coordinated ad campaigns. And under the arms race of the Weinstein rule of Miramax, awards season became constant, with publicists paid to generate buzz for their films year-round.