( CNN ) Hollywood 's leading women want to be treated with a little more respect as they parade the red carpet on Oscar night this Sunday . And it 's not hard to sympathize with them . Female nominees , it seems , are tired of simply engaging in the same old small talk about the make of their gowns , the jewels they are wearing , or the footwear they 're flaunting ( not to mention the intimate secrets of their personal beautification process ) . So they have been pushing back in the form of # AskHerMore , a campaign launched last year that 's being waged by women in Hollywood wanting to broaden the scope of their pre-telecast conversations beyond fashion . Whether it be Cate Blanchett 's pointed question to a cameraman at last year 's SAG Awards , or contenders refusing to raise their hands for E ! Entertainment 's `` Mani-Cam , '' actresses are starting to speak out about some of the more sexist treatment they face . So , can we expect a red carpet rebellion at this year 's Academy Awards ? Far from it . Posing like a supermodel and discussing couture delivers a big payoff -- a lucrative contract representing a luxury brand of cosmetics , watches , automobiles or even bottled water and automobiles . Such contracts give stars an extra income , allowing them to refrain , if they choose , from making B-list movies or popcorn blockbusters . Plus , fronting a glossy campaign can also create a sophisticated aura around the star in question . And this award season has felt even longer than usual . Instead of kicking off with January 's Golden Globes , it started two months early , in November 2014 , with the Hollywood Film Awards . Purists lampooned the telecast , which despite proclaiming itself the `` Official Launch of the Awards Season '' has seemed barely known to much of the public beyond Hollywood . Yet that did n't stop the talent considered a shoo-in for the big prizes from being out in force at the ceremony , gamely fielding pre-telecast questions from film and fashion reporters . And this week , the Oscar front-runners are still talking fashion , despite the word on the ground here in Los Angeles being that some nominees are nursing colds , while others already have blisters from walking miles of red carpet in their borrowed designer stilettos . For some , it seems , the thinking is # AskHerMore be damned ! It did n't used to be like this . Serious actors -- especially those intent on winning an Oscar -- once refrained from the `` grubby '' work of advertising . Cher 's decision to promote health clubs in a series of TV commercials , for example , was seen by many as scuttling her shot as best actress for the 1985 film `` Mask . '' If an actor did decide to promote a brand , he or she would generally do so on the sly , in Japan , and pocket big money out of sight of Western audiences ( much easier in the pre-YouTube era ) . Today there is no such stigma . Last year 's red carpet star Lupita Nyong ' o , who secured a statuette for `` 12 Years A Slave , '' got an early jump on the Oscar buzz-generating action at the Telluride Film Festival in August before embarking on a six-month stretch of appearances in which she seemed to divide her time between film industry functions ( which allow for networking opportunities with Academy voters ) and fashion goings-on . On the day her Golden Globe nomination was announced , for example , Nyong ' o was attending the Paris couture shows . A month after Nyong ' o claimed the best supporting actress Oscar , Lancôme Paris announced she would be one of its brand ambassadors . This is all a far cry from the days when the shoe was on the other foot , and it was old Hollywood 's leading women who felt honored to be associated with their stylists . Golden age stars like Marlene Dietrich and Audrey Hepburn were proud of their associations with style gurus like Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy -- and they also paid for their clothes -- while Grace Kelly , Sophia Loren , Janet Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor relied on Edith Head , the head of the costume department at Paramount Pictures , to prep them for awards-season premieres and the Oscars . Similarly , on her way to winning the best actress prize for `` Caberet '' in 1973 , Liza Minnelli sought out the services of design legend Halston , reportedly to ensure that she would have an image that would keep her out of the shadow of her legendary mother , Judy Garland . Halston 's reported advice ? Minnelli should purchase a set of Louis Vuitton luggage , which he then filled with clothes , footwear and jewels all made to measure for her . Still , for a time , the demise of the studio system and feminist ideals started to put paid to women prettifying themselves ( too much ) for awards season . Indeed , a slew of late 1970s and '80s winners sported pantsuits and cocktail attire at the Golden Globes and the Oscars . But Sharon Stone 's reasoning that `` If you are going to the Oscars , you might as well go to the Oscars '' may have marked a resurgence of glamor . Onetime model Stone liked fashion and understood how to wear fine jewelry . And today , her successors on the nominations list , actresses like Cate Blanchett , Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore -- respected both for their style and talent -- carry her torch . And increasingly , male leads seem interested in getting in on the act . Eddie Redmayne , up for best actor for `` The Theory of Everything , '' has been a regular presence at events on TV . And although he has n't been nominated for an Academy Award , Ellar Coltrane of `` Boyhood '' has been working the style angle , becoming a red carpet star and the face of Richard Linklater 's coming-of-age epic . And like Nyong ' o , whose claim to fame prior to `` 12 Years a Slave '' was an MTV Base show , Coltrane has shot to overnight stardom . Clad in sharp Armani tuxedos and plush velvet Isaia suits , he has gamely chatted his way through E ! pre-telecasts . So if you tune in on Sunday , do n't expect the stars to be camera-shy , even if they are cringing inside at the questions they are being asked . After all , while some of them will be collecting awards for work already completed , the Oscar pre-show is also a chance for many of them to be auditioning for some more work -- whether it 's on the silver screen or a magazine cover . And for that reason alone , the red carpet circus is n't going anywhere .
Academy Awards ceremony takes place this Sunday . Bronwyn Cosgrave : Posing like a supermodel delivers a big payoff .