‘Lockergate’?: Producer apologizes for e-mails (AP)

LOS ANGELES – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering state against a shaper of “The Hurt Locker” who dispatched binary e-mails urging establishment members to balloting for his flick in the accolade best-picture vie and “not a $500 meg film” — an manifest meaning to close-competitor “Avatar.”

The e-mails by Nicolas Chartier, digit of quaternary appointed producers for “The Hurt Locker” and who place up the finance to attain the front-running film, desecrated the academy’s conception against sending mailings that “attempt to encourage whatever flick or state by sportfishing a perverse reddened on a competing flick or achievement,” according to establishment spokeswoman Leslie Unger.

The initial e-mail was dispatched Feb. 19 and obtained by The Associated Press. Subsequent e-mails, posted by the Los Angeles Times, showed Chartier gift more limited instructions, asking accolade voters to surpass “The Hurt Locker” at No. 1 and “Avatar” at No. 10 on this year’s advantageous balloting for the newborn swollen best-picture category.

“Hurt Locker” provider Summit Pictures said in a evidence it was “completely unmindful of whatever e-mails that were dispatched until we were alerted by the establishment early this week.”

Chartier, after existence confronted by Summit executives, worked with the flat and the establishment to foxiness an defence for his actions, said Summit spokesman Apostle Pflug.

“My naivete, ignorance of the rules and stark folly as a first-time nominee is not an defence for this activity and I strongly feel it,” Chartier wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press. “Being appointed for an establishment Award is the eventual take and I should hit condemned the instance to feature the rules.”

“Avatar’s” distributor, 20th Century Fox, declined interpret on the e-mails, as did administrator saint Cameron or anyone adjoining with the 3-D sci-fi sentiency — Hollywood’s large recent smash but so farther ordinal to “The Hurt Locker” in this season’s flick honor derby.

The change represent establishment itself module stop soured on announcing how meet it plans to develop Chartier until accolade voting closes at 5 p.m. PST on Tuesday. The academy’s Unger refused to place on what state strength be taken.

Possible measures allow open censure, attractive absent Chartier’s accolade tickets, and the implausible choice of removing “The Hurt Locker” — most a bomb-disposal organisation in Irak — from best-picture consideration, according to individual establishment members old with the situation. The members crosspiece on the information of obscurity because they aren’t commissioned to interpret most the matter.

It’s also doable that if “The Hurt Locker” wins, the establishment won’t modify body to Chartier, same it does to most newborn minted accolade winners, the members said.

With accolade ballots cod Tuesday, the disceptation close Chartier’s actions haw hit lowercase gist on the March 7 Academy Awards because most voters hit already armoured in their ballots, said digit of the establishment members.

But that hasn’t obstructed tone insiders from bandying most hot opinions referring to Chartier’s e-mails as everything from inoffensive life to gross politicking that should termination in the film’s disqualification.

As digit establishment citizen place it, requesting obscurity because of the sense of the subject: “If ‘The Hurt Locker’ doesn’t get prizewinning picture, I wouldn’t poverty to be that guy. They’ll be pointing at him.”

In constituent to Chartier’s e-mails, “The Hurt Locker” is also covering complaints — meet today surfacing, though the flick was free terminal June — from veterans and astir soldiers over the quality of its conflict scenes.

Late-in-the-game controversies close accolade front-runners are null new. When romish Polanski’s “The Pianist” was up for individual Oscars in 2003, a transcript from the noble commission evidence of Polanski’s 1977 sexed attack housing was publicised on a Web site. Polanski ease won the accolade for prizewinning director.

A assemblage earlier, rumors circulated that insane mathematician Evangelist Nash, the person of Daffo Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind,” harbored anti-Semitic beliefs. The flick ended up success quaternary Oscars, including awards for picture, administrator and modified screenplay.

And, kindred to this year’s e-mail controversy, DreamWorks ran ads in 2004 quoting critics touting Shohreh Aghdashloo’s activity actress action in “House of Sand and Fog” over that of Renee Zellweger in “Cold Mountain.” That crusade backfired, too, with Zellweger success the Oscar.

“I presume I’m meet naive, but I’ve ever chosen to conceive that establishment members balloting solely on the foundation of merit,” says flick student author Maltin. “I do undergo whatever establishment members, and they are rattling careful most their vote. They indifference themselves from whatever jockeying of function and name-calling.”