Nicolas Chartier (2nd left) & Hurt Locker crew!
Just a couple of days ago, I reported that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences was pondering what action to take against one of the producers of "The Hurt Locker" (Nicolas Chartier) for violating Academy rules.
Post: 02/26/10
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2010/02/hurt-lockerdisqualified-from-oscars.html
Chartier e-mailed several hundred promotional teasers to friends, family, and business associates - of which, a few were Academy Members - urging Oscar enthusiasts to turn their backs on Avatar (which he referred to as the "$500 million dollar movie") - and vote for "Hurt Locker" instead (directed by talented Kathryn Bigelow).
The unprecedented slight caused a furor at the Academy where officials of the prestigious organization quickly discussed potential remedies to punish the upstart who cast a pall in the 11th hour of the Oscar race.
According to academy rules, members are barred from participating in negative campaigns against filmmakers in the running for the coveted Golden Statuette affectionately known as the "Oscar".
Over the weekend, when the disturbing news first broke, the Academy was considering pulling Bigelow's offering from the line up of nominated features as punishment and to deter such conduct in the future by Academy Members.
However, yesterday it was announced that disciplinary action would be focused solely on the culprit in question, Nicolas Chartier.
In a press release Tuesday, the Academy announced that Chartier would be barred from attending the Oscar celebrations on March 7th at the Kodak Theatre in the heart of Hollywood.
The naughty producer's tickets were revoked, and he was summarily notified - as well - that he would not be able to attend as a guest of any attendee either.
In sum, Nicolas Chartier has the dubious distinction of being the first nominee to have ever been banned from attending the Oscars.
In due time, Chartier (and the incident) will obviously be reduced to Oscar trivia on TV game shows and the like for decades to come.
Is Chartier the first to go down in the halls of Oscar infamy?
Well, he's in good company - right up there with Brando's Oscar misstep in 1977 - and alongside a handful of botched acceptance speeches that didn't gel well with audiences over the years.
Brando Native Indian fiasco!
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