Oscar just to be nominated?

Oscar just to be nominated?
Academy Award ceremony as much part of the Oscars as the red carpet fashion watch and the thank-you speeches that drone on and on.

The camera pans to the ecstatic winner rushing to the stage, but what happens to the Oscar nominees who are left gamely smiling in their seats?

Does it help or hurt them to fall just short of winning Hollywood's most prestigious award?

Marsha Mason, a four-time Oscar nominee who was nominated for "The Goodbye Girl," "Only When I Laugh," "Chapter Two" and "Cinderella Liberty" but never won say "I can't see any downside to it" .

"People who would not have paid attention to me started to pay attention," Mason says of her post-Oscar-nominee life. "When I went to meet Clint Eastwood for [the film] 'Heartbreak Ridge', the first thing he mentioned to me was, 'Wow, that's terrific, you have four Academy nominations.' "

The Oscar nominee whose career went into overdrive

Marsha Mason's experience isn't universal. Plenty of actors and actresses seemed to have melted into the background scenery after their Oscar nominations.

Yet there are other performers whose careers seemed to shift into overdrive once they were nominated. The late Paul Newman was nominated for best actor in the Academy Awards on seven occasions beginning in 1969 for roles in films such as "The Hustler," "Hud" and "Cool Hand Luke."

Though he didn't win, Newman continued to be one of Hollywood's leading men. He eventually won a best actor Oscar in 1987 for "The Color of Money."

Mickey Rourke was nominated last year for a best actor Oscar for his role in "The Wrestler." He didn't win but earned widespread critical praise.

Mickey Rourke also landed a coveted role as the villain "Whiplash" in "Iron Man 2," says Gregg Kilday, film editor at The Hollywood Reporter.

"Mickey Rourke reconnected with a lot of folks, and in an industry built on relationships, that doesn't hurt," Kilday says. "Certainly Mickey Rourke is getting more money for 'Iron Man 2' than he did for 'The Wrestler.' ''

Saoirse Ronan was nominated for best supporting actress in the 2007 film "Atonement." Ronan didn't win, but it didn't hurt her career, Kilday says.

"She went on to be cast in 'The Lovely Bones,' " Kilday says. "Would that have happened anyway? Possibly."

An Oscar nomination doesn't just help individual performers. It can also help get a film made, Kilday says. Producers can tell would-be investors the filmmakers have landed an Oscar nominee when they're trying to line up support.

"It gives them a little bit more of a name. That's helpful to producers that have to go out and raise money," Kilday says.

An Oscar nomination can also help a film, says Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst with Hollywood.com.

He says the gross of the 1999 film, "American Beauty," grew by more than $55 million (to a total of $130 million) after it was nominated for and won several Oscars. The film won five Oscars, including best picture, best actor and best director.

"It's no secret that Academy Award nominees enjoy a bump just after the nominations are announced, and just after the awards show as film fans rush to see the movies," Dergarabedian says.

source : CNN