Movie News
Hurt Locker producer banned from Oscars
Wednesday 3 March 2010
But Nicolas Chartier will receive an Oscar if his film wins best picture.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the action against producer Nicolas Chartier, who broke Oscar rules that ban mail that promotes a film by disparaging another.
Chartier sent emails seeking support for 'The Hurt Locker', "not a "500-million dollar film" - an obvious reference to best-picture contender 'Avatar'.
Subsequent emails, posted by the Los Angeles Times, showed Chartier asking Oscar voters to rank his film at number one and 'Avatar' at number 10 among the list of nominated films.
Although he later apologised, citing "naivete, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first-time nominee" for the error, the Academy said Chartier had violated campaigning standards.
"Academy rules prohibit 'casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film'," the Academy said in a statement.
The penalty against Chartier will not affect the other three producers.
However organisers stopped short of the harsher penalty of withdrawing Chartier's nomination, which would have kept him from receiving an Oscar statuette if his film won.
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