Die durch die Hölle gehen
According to producer Deeley, orchestrated lobbying against "The Deer Hunter" was led by Warren Beatty, whose own picture "Heaven Can Wait" had multiple nominations. Beatty also used ex-girlfriends in his campaign: Julie Christie, serving on the jury at the Berlin Film Festival where "Deer Hunter" was screened, joined the walkout of the film by the Russian jury members. Jane Fonda also criticized "The Deer Hunter" in public. Deeley suggested that her criticisms partly stemmed from the competition between her film "Coming Home" vying with "The Deer Hunter" for Best Picture. According to Deeley, he planted a friend of his in the Oscar press area behind the stage to ask Fonda if she had seen "The Deer Hunter". Fonda replied she had not seen the film, and to this day she still has not.