A few weeks ago, in the run-up to the Academy Awards, we reported on a controversy breaking out in an Oscars category that doesn’t usually pick up a lot of heat: Best Makeup And Hairstyling. The fight was centered on Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, which ended up winning its sole Oscar in the category, with the statues specifically going to special makeup effects supervisor Pierre-Olivier Persin, key makeup artist Stéphanie Guillon, and key hair artist Marilyne Scarselli. And it’s with that last name that we hit the rub here: Scarselli is one of two primary participants in what’s sounding like an increasingly bitter feud between two professionals who hair-styled The Substance, and which has now necessitated one of the film’s producers stepping in to try to quell tempers and clear the air. Or, in his own words: “I must bring you the version of the production that does not hang Marilyne Scarselli out to dry.”
Specifically, Nicolas Royer, an executive producer on the movie, has now waded into the controversy between Scarselli and her former boss, Frédérique Arguello, who has essentially accused her former assistant of stealing her Oscar. (Arguello’s argument, in brief, is that she designed all of the hair for The Substance, and served as its credited key hair artist for the first several months of production before departing the movie near the end of filming. Scarselli has responded by saying that, even before Arguello’s departure, she was the one actually styling Demi Moore’s hair day-in and day-out, after Moore refused to work with Arguello after an alleged mishap with a wig.) In a lengthy letter published by Deadline, Royer claims that “this case is turning into the lynching of Marilyne Scarselli,” stating that she’s now become the subject of professional denigration. (In an interview with Deadline, Scarselli has said that Arguello “tried to destroy my career in Paris and all the hair stylists in Paris killed me on Facebook and social media. It’s really bad for me and for my career.”) Royer’s letter, addressed to the Association of Production Managers, essentially supports both version of events, saying that “Frédérique intervened more in preparation for the search for looks and during part of the shooting. Marilyne took care of the main actresses more, in conjunction with the Special Makeup Effects team.” He dubs their roles “complementary.”
In the letter, Royer echoed a sentiment previously expressed by reps for the film’s distributor, MUBI: Blame the Academy for this whole mess. In cases like this, where multiple people put forward their names for Oscar consideration, decisions fall to the Academy’s branches to ultimately determine who’s eligible. In this case, that was the Academy’s Makeup And Hair branch, which decided that Scarselli would be put up for the award, alongside Guillon and Persin. (As Royer notes, the BAFTAs avoided this whole drama by just allowing both hair artists to be nominated, and win, for their work on The Substance, but the Oscars limits a film to three nominees for a category.) Royer says that, after the initial ruling, producers “Sent them a letter in which we gave more details about the roles of each one, to be sure that the Academy has all the elements to make the right choice,” but that, “A few days later, the governor replied that they had studied the applications again and that their decision would not change.”
Royer clarifies in his statement that he firmly believes that both Arguello and Scarselli did vital work on The Substance. “Frédérique Arguello and Marilyne Scarselli are both very talented and have done a great job on The Substance,” he writes to his fellow producers, while also urging them to call him if they have any questions about hiring either stylist. “It is the Academy, not Marilyne, who is responsible for her appointment in place of Frédérique.”
