Hurt Locker producer banned from Oscar ceremony

Nicolas Chartier, one of the four Oscar nominated producers of The Hurt Locker, has been barred by the Academy from attending the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 8.

The executive committee of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) ruled that Chartier violated campaign rules by sending e-mails to voters favouring his movie while disparaging a rival film. The Academy's producers branch ruled that the 'ethical lapse' merited the revocation of his invitation.

'Nicolas Chartier has been denied attendance at the 82nd Academy Awards as a penalty for violating Academy's campaigning standards. Chartier had recently disseminated an e-mail to certain Academy voters and other film industry figures in which he solicited votes for his own picture and disparaged one of the contending films,' a statement from the Academy said.

The AMPAS stopped short of stripping Chartier of his candidacy as a nominee and said should Locker win the Best Picture award, Chartier will receive the Oscar statuette but not during the ceremony.

'Academy rules prohibit casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film,' it said.

Chartier, one of the four producers of the war-movie, apologised last week for violating the campaign rules. The producer had sent e-mail on February 19, urging Academy members to vote for Locker and not Avatar.