The Hurt Locker Film Producer Adds More Controversy in Oscar Race

Every year there is controversy leading up to the Academy Awards. 2010 is no different. Hollywood is known for drama on the big screen as well as behind it. Everybody wants an Oscar and I do mean everybody. The studios and producers go all out to campaign for their films. That means a lot of money is spent and it gets down right shameful at times. The cost in campaigning for a particular film reaches $50,000 and up depending on how bad a studio wants to win an Oscar.

The race begins before the nominations and leads up to Oscar night. There are ads placed on TV, in magazines, newspapers and on the Internet. The main purpose is for moviegoers to see a particular film to boost box office receipts. Twenty years ago if a film was recognized with Oscar nominations or a win then it could generate millions of dollars. The marketing visibility game changed that dramatically with the advent of the Internet. Film ad campaigns are shown everyday on websites and blogs. The pursuit of an Oscar gets competitive and more often than not down right nasty.

The film The Hurt Locker has won virtually every award imaginable this year. The producers also want to win the Oscar for best picture. On February 19, 2010, Nicolas Chartier broke a rule by sending out an email to Academy voters. He urged them to choose Locker as best picture over the other nine nominees including Avatar. Nicolas wrote an apology email soon after. The Academy will decide on how to reprimand him before Oscar night Sunday March 7, 2010.

Locker is also receiving criticism from a number of soldiers and veterans about its' authenticity. They believe that the "explosive ordinance disposal" (EOD) team in the movie is not realistic. They compared the lead actor Jeremy Renner to a John Wayne type who is too "gung ho." The film was shown to real life EOD teams and they praised the film for its' compelling realism. The Oscar exposure is driving those in the armed forces to see the film and they are also weighing in.

Several Oscar nominated films have received controversy. One example is A Beautiful Mind which was directed by Ron Howard. People who knew the real genius John Nash (Russell Crowe) complained the film inaccurately portrayed him. The argument brought bad publicity but the film won the Oscar as best picture. The Hurricane starring Denzel Washington didn't fare too well. Journalists and boxing historians created fervor over the false portrayal of real life boxer Rubin Carter. The backlash was so big that Washington lost the Oscar as best actor of that year.

It will be interesting to see how many producers will be awarded the Oscar for best picture if it wins in that category. The Academy usually never gives awards to more than three producers. The Hurt Locker has four and the argument ranges from which one spent the most time on the movie set to who financed more money. Nicolas Chartier who put up money for Locker had sent that pushy email blast.

The Academy curbed its' rules on just three producers getting an Oscar when Shakespeare in Love (1998) had numerous producers walk on stage. It looked like a cattle stampede. Crash had a total of six credited producers and only director Paul Haggis and Cathy Shulman got to accept onstage. That resulted in a lawsuit by one of the film's producers. Geez, everybody wants an Oscar.