Hurt Locker Producer Banned From Oscars

This was one impending explosion Jeremy Renner couldn’t defuse. The Hurt Locker producer Nicolas Chartier will not be allowed to attend Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said today, as a penalty for sending an e-mail in mid-February appealing to Academy members to vote for his film. Chartier — who will still receive an Oscar if the film wins Best Picture — urged voters in his e-mail to support Locker instead of “a $500 million film,” referring not-so-subtly to competitor Avatar. Oscar rules ban “direct promotional communications with members,” and specifically prohibit any attempt to cast “a negative or derogatory light on a competing film or achievement.” [Carpetbagger/NYT]

Hurt Locker Producer Banned From Oscars