UPDATE: According to THR, all four producers have now been recognised by the Academy in what is being described as a “rare and extraordinary circumstance.” Chartier is again noted as being the man in question but fortunately the potential awkwardness has been averted.
When “The Hurt Locker” was announced as an Oscar Best Picture nominee on Tuesday morning, some may recall that it was announced that producing credit for the film was still to be decided. And so the controversy ensues…
The Academy typically rules that only three producers can accept an award but Kathryn Bigelow’s film boasts a producing team of — from left to right in the photo — writer Mark Boal, Voltage Pictures partner Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro, and Bigelow herself.
Chartier is reportedly the most likely to be left out in the cold with past rumors of fraying relationships between he and the others and even a set ban. This is denied though with all four having been acknowledged at the Producer’s Guild and the BAFTAs after Bigelow, Boal and Shapiro reportedly wrote in endorsements. If that’s the case, will they again make a stand for Chartier? And will the Academy make an exception?
What unfolds will be an interesting sidenote but if “The Hurt Locker” does take home the prize, we’ll probably be in too great a rapture to notice who’s on stage.