The Oscars welcome TikTok stars to bring excitement to Hollywood’s biggest night and boost the show’s ratings among younger viewers. They’ve teamed up with 24 TikTok stars this year, including Feldman, Emily Uribe and Juju Green, for behind-the-scenes looks and conducting celebrity interviews, says Meryl Johnson, the academy’s vice president of digital marketing.
“Content created on TikTok has relevant authenticity,” says Johnson. “Social media has transformed the way fans consume content and TikTok is the next evolution of that.”
Little did Feldman until recently that his TikTok account, which focuses on the film industry and has over 23 million likes, had garnered the attention of Hollywood’s heavyweights.
As a production assistant, he posts videos from TV and film sets to more than 619,000 followers using the TikTok handle @guywithamoviecamera. One of his most popular posts shows him preparing for a dinner reading on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
“I enjoy nothing more than talking about movies. I just love telling stories,” says Feldman.
Feldman has posted about surprise celebrity encounters, the Oscar nominees’ luncheon and preparations at the Dolby Theater — even rolling out the iconic red carpet. He’ll be at various Oscar backstage events on Sunday to provide a glimpse of what’s happening on Hollywood’s biggest night.
“They just give me creative freedom and make content that’s specific to TikTok,” he says. “I really love being behind the scenes… there are thousands of people making sure the lighting is perfect… the sound is good. These people who are great at their jobs and pour out their sweat for that.”
TikTok is an ideal platform for advancing the film industry because it encourages people to connect through personal videos, says Christina Ferraz, founder of Houston-based marketing agency Thirty6five. Other platforms encourage interpersonal connection through narrative experiences, says Ferraz.
“Both the film industry and TikTok rely heavily on and encourage youth and beauty. It’s a natural connection for brand alignment,” says Ferraz.
According to Feldman, TikTok differs from other social media platforms because it is organic and has an algorithm that allows content from people without many followers to reach a wide audience. This is an incentive that attracts more content creators to the platform.
Some Oscar-nominated films have already won the popularity contest on TikTok.
This week, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who composed several songs for Disney’s Encanto soundtrack, thanked TikTok users for helping propel the film’s album to the top of the charts.
Miranda cited “really surreal and incredible” dances around the movie’s hit We Don’t Talk About Bruno, which have gone viral on the platform.
“Dune,” which has 10 Oscar nominations, has also blown up on TikTok, where its hashtag has been viewed more than 1.3 billion times.