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Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that, should “The Hurt Locker” be announced as the recipient of the Best Picture award at Sunday’s ceremonies, only three of the picture’s producers will be present for the celebration. The fourth of the film’s credited producers, Nicolas Chartier, has been denied attendance at the 82nd Academy Awards® as a penalty for violating Academy campaigning standards.
Chartier had recently disseminated an email to certain Academy voters and other film industry figures in which he solicited votes for his own picture and disparaged one of the other contending films. Academy rules prohibit “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film.” The executive committee of the Academy’s Producers Branch, at a special session late Monday, ruled that the ethical lapse merited the revocation of Chartier’s invitation to the Awards.
The group stopped short of recommending that the Academy governors rescind Chartier’s nomination. If “The Hurt Locker” were to be selected as Best Picture, Chartier would receive his Oscar® statuette at some point subsequent to the March 7 ceremonies.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
- ‘Hurt Locker’s Chartier Admits Sending Private Emails About ‘Avatar’
- Academy May Discipline ‘The Hurt Locker’
- Oscar Campaign Badmouthing Has Begun!
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Getting the boot to attend the Oscars where your film is possibly the best picture? Harsh. Having Nikke Fink tell the world?
Well, that’s just good Press.
Hey Nicholas. I like your style. You shouldn’t have apologized.
The Academy must keep those statues up their butts until showtime.
Ok, the guy’s a dope, but please, this is just laughable– and pitiable. As IF Hollywood’s a town of high moral standards, integrity and fair play. HA. That’ll teach him to invest his money in motion pictures.
I don’t believe that saying in essence vote for my film not the $500m film is really negative or derogatory.
Total bullshit!
This is outrageous. I know Nicolas Chartier and I know what he had to go through to get this film made. We are not friends…only colleagues. But I realize that he took what would be considered a ‘very non-commercial script’ without any stars, a director who was questionable, made a film that is revered and dispised…in short order….got it through post-production…got it into the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. Finally got a U.S. theatrical deal through Roeg Sutherland at CAA from Summit…who screwed him by offering more than $2M on one day and when everyone else had put in their offers, came back with somewhere in the low $1M… a guy who put all his personal money on the line.
And he sends out an email to a few friends saying…’think about voting for The Hurt Locker’..never naming another film.
I know what Nicolas went through to raise the money for this film…how he worked with Christian Halsey Solomon at Grosvenor Park…how he cojoled international buyers to sign contracts..and when they didn’t, he put his own money where his mouth is (as did Samuel Goldwyn Sr when he wanted to make a film that the studios didn’t want…like “Wuthering Heights” or other trivial films)..
To deny him this honor is going against every code in the book. I know…I’ve been in this business for 33 years…seen it all..done it all. If you deny Nicolas Chartier the opportunity to receive the recognition he deserves, then we have reached a new stage of “blackmail” in the industry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences should be ashamed…more than ashamed…
And here is a personal note to Bill Mechanic (producer of the Oscars): Do not let this happen. It will only be a reflection upon you and yours…
I couldn’t agree more with this statement. I wish you had put your name on it. What Mr. Chartier did is nothing compared to what goes on behind the scenes during the Oscar campaigning every year.
Shame on Tom Sherak, Bill Mechanic and anyone else who lets this stand. Hypocrisy is the vaseline of social intercourse.
AGREED. 100%. Everyone knows why some things get nominated and some don’t and much of that is not kosher, in my opinion. It has been clear to me for over twenty years that many nominations are “bought.” THE HURT LOCKER actually earned a nomination. Additionally, all are aware of the average age of those at the Academy who vote. There is certainly a very smart and creative age range in the business who are not involved in the voting process, and for many years that has clearly determined who wins and who doesn’t.
What a lame rule. Let them talk some smack and get the ratings up
Is the Academy kidding? There is so much bashing, good and bad pr campaigning and badmouthing that goes on behind filmmaker’s backs at this time of year every year, this guy shouldn’t be singled out. He sent an apology. Get over it.
Nikki, stay on this story. It could explode into a huge scandal.
this is laughable. Reminds me of grade school. The violations are so minuscule that to list them would lend any credence that this was made into a big deal. In the world of Hollywood he isn’t a big player with someone protecting him. Believe me if this happened to someone with the right dad or relationships it would have blown over. Very smoothly. To take away this time in his life is plain wrong. Plain and simple.
What a joke. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences becomes more irrelevant with each Oscar ceremony. I hope the audience boos when his name isn’t announced. He was an integral part of getting The Hurt Locker made.
Such hypocrites! These people are disgusting – this story should be spread far and wide. To save themselves the embarrassment of having turned a blind eye to years of bad mouthing and turning a blind eye to the rules, the Academy decides to make an example out of someone who has not leverage to push back.
Pathetic.
PM,
Perfectly said.
And I thought the Academy had abandoned all standards when Roman Polanski was nominated.
That should teach those awful, enthusiastic producers what is acceptable and what isn’t. Can’t exactly blame them for not quite understanding the priorities. Which go something like this:
Being a convicted felon and fugitive – okay, no big deal. You have to consider the art and not the artist’s actions, however despicable they might be. It’s all about the work, it’s all about the movie.
Saying that your movie is more deserving than an obscenely expensive yet fun other movie – OMG, are you out of your mind? Never ever say anything bad about the work! You’re lucky that you can’t get thrown in jail for that heinous crime. Ts, ts, ts.
The kids nowadays. Unbelievable.
Now almost everyone in the world will know the name Nicolas Chartier. Sadly a great PR move on his part.
so it’s not okay to ask for votes by sending an email but it’s cool to throw lavish luncheons and do it behind peoples backs? cool, got it.
As someone with a couple of friends who worked their butts on Avatar, I liked The Hurt Locker more than I expected as I thought I could easily catch something similar on CNN. That said, I want to see it do well. I don’t think Chartier did much different than anyone else who is campaigning for an Oscar other than the fact that he got caught.
He got caught, and he was totally direct in his campaigning. Two big no-noes. You’re supposed to stab people in the back, not say what you want to their face.
Man, if that rule was really enforced, the only people in attendance at the Oscars would be — envelope please — the seat fillers.
High School with money. That is what hollywood is.
What a bunch of assholes picking on the little guy who worked his whole life, built a business with his own hands and when he screws up, apologizes, gets dragged through the mud, everyone involved from Katerine Bigalow to Mark Boal turn their back on him (which by the way goes WAY against the honor code of any real man or woman in the military which their movie is supposed to recognize), he gets treated like a pariah and is kicked out of prom by the cool kids.
The guy APOLOGIZED and said he was an IDIOT – what more do you want?
So sad that they would take this once in a lifetime opportunity away from him.
This is hollywood, we are not curing cancer or building rockets you stupid little people. Grow the F’ up.
lobbying for votes .. hmmm, sounds kinda like ALL THE OTHER AWARDS!
Obviously they wanted an excuse to bar him from going anywhere near the stage.
If this is the case, then I assume Harvey Weinstein must have a lifetime ban from the Oscars!
This is so unfair, I only wanted to watch the ceremony to see Nick, the academy made a huge mistake forbidding him to go. Get over it everyone ones make mistakes in life and he apologized…
Well Nick we’ll think of you very much and you’ll be in all our hearts.
How DARE he want people to vote for his movie?!?!?!?! The outrage!!! It’s not like the people he emailed have any control who they ultimately vote for or anything!
A great many people in the Kodak Theater Sunday night will have done far worse than this guy. In an era when there is little of no independent film financing available, this man risked everything he had to get a film made and this is his reward. So he’s a difficult creep. One of the producer nominees is world famous for being a difficult prick. Chartier is an amateur compared to him. So he wrote a few letters. That’s nothing compared to the active smear campaigns mounted by others. His “crime” pales into insignificance when compared to the activities of studio heads of the past and frankly, it wasn’t anywhere near as intentional as what half of the nominated actors probably did to get their roles.
I for one will proudly be wearing my “I’m with Frenchy” t-shirt.
So does this mean the Academy will take away Harvey’s membership for all the crap he has pulled over the years? Or does NC get made an example of because he doesn’t have the weight (lit/fig) of HW?