If Vin Diesel can predict awards season glory for the "Fast and Furious" franchise, who's to say that superhero flick "Deadpool" doesn't have a shot at some hardware, too? Star Ryan Reynolds has officially kicked off "Deadpool"'s campaign for Oscars and other critics awards with a hilarious For Your Consideration letter aimed at reminding voters just how much work went into crafting the offbeat flick -- with a healthy dose of the irreverent humor that made the film such a unique moviegoing experience in the first place.

The letter, shared by IndieWire critic Anne Thompson, begins with Reynolds poking fun at the recent crackdown on wining and dining awards voters (something the Hollywood Foreign Press Association addressed this year with its new set of rules for the Golden Globes). Instead of bribes, the actor offers "my sincerest thanks for supporting our Deadpool film this year," before launching into a recounting of the long and arduous process it took to get the movie onto the big screen.

"Deadpool" had "a budget which would barely cover the cocaine costs on most studio films," Reynolds wrote, and he suspects that studio 20th Century Fox only greenlit the flick because it mistook the film for "a Maze Runner spinoff." Despite its underdog status, the actor said, "Deadpool emerged from a 5th tier Marvel character to a pop culture phenomenon ... becoming the highest grossing Rated R film in history."

Whether or not "Deadpool" will earn any Oscar hardware remains to be seen, and the Academy has been notoriously stuffy when it comes to recognizing the superhero genre in anything other than the technical categories. But according to IndieWire, Reynolds was present at last weekend's Governors Awards -- an event at which many actors and actresses campaign for their own films -- and Fox is also reportedly backing the actor in the Best Actor race.

We won't know until the nominations are announced in January whether or not the gamble pays off, but it should be entertaining to see what other tricks Reynolds and co. have up their sleeves as awards season continues.

[via: IndieWire]