'Hurt Locker' Producer Banned from Oscars

Remember last week when we talked about the Hurt Locker producer who broke the rules and, in advancing the cause of his own Best Picture nominee, told voters not to honor "a $500M film." That's a thinly veiled shot at Avatar, and you're not allowed to campaign negatively for the Academy Awards. After all, these are the Oscars, not something unimportant like the presidency, where negative campaigning constitutes most of the campaigning. "If everyone tells one or two of their friends, we will win and not a $500 million film," Chartier wrote on February 19h. "We need independent movies to win like the movies you and I do, so if you believe The Hurt Locker is the best movie of 2010, help us!" The verdict is in from AMPAS. Nicolas Chartier, who sent an apology e-mail after his faux pas, has been banned from attending the Oscars this weekend. Variety says that an executive committee of the Academy ruled that Chartier committed an "ethical lapse," and stopped short of stripping him of his official candidacy for Best Picture. So, if The Hurt Locker wins the top prize, he's still getting an Oscar, just not Sunday night. And that should be the end of the story, but it's not. Here's where I think it gets stupid. Chartier is attending an Oscar party in his honor on Sunday night, thrown by talent agency kingpin Graham Taylor. Over 100 people are said to be attending. Dude, don't put the spotlight on you as if you're the victim. The rules are pretty clear. You screwed up and then apologized. By frolicking at a private party in Venice Beach, it sure does seem to undercut the sincerity of the apology. Why can't he just sit at home like a guy who gave his film an unnecessary last-minute black eye?