No Oscar Show For THE HURT LOCKER Producer Chartier, Says Academy

(Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro at the 21st Annual PGA Awards)

Mere hours before voting closed to Academy members at 5 PM PT on Tuesday, March 2, came this announcement from AMPAS. As Newt said in ALIENS, “It won’t make any difference.”

Beverly Hills, CA (March 2, 2010) 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.