You Can’t Lose at the Oscars If You Can’t Win
BeyoncĂ Knowles cannot lose the Best Song Oscar. Brad Pitt cannot be denied the Best Picture award.
That’s because Knowles isn’t even eligible in the former category; and, as of now, Pitt, a credited producer on The Departed, isn’t eligible in the latter category.
Such are the breaks of the Oscar ballot.
In the case of Knowles, the singer-actor is one of four credited songwriters on the new Dreamgirls tune, “Listen.” And at the Jan. 15 Golden Globes, she’ll be vying for a Best Original Song statuette along with her three collaborators, Henry Krieger, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler.
But come the Oscars, should the track rate an Original Song nomination, Knowles won’t be one of the nominees. That’s because the Academy limits the number of credited songwriters to three per song. And in the credit roll on “Listen,” Knowles is fourth, leaving her the odd composer out.
“It’s no surprise,” Knowles spokesman Alan Nierob said Thursday. “It’s all good. The rules are the rules.”
The rules, as they relate to Knowles, were first brought to light Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times’ awards-centric Website, The Envelope.
According to Academy spokeswoman Teni Melidonian, the limit on Original Song personnel was enforced starting with films released in 2005. The move was done, the rep said Thursday, to ensure that songwriters and composers who make the greatest contribution receive the greatest amount of Oscar credit.
And on “Listen,” it was determined, Knowles’ collaborators made greater contributions than Knowles. Which is not the same as saying Knowles didn’t contribute. She did, Nierob said. And not only that, she sounds ready to contribute more.
“If the song’s fortunate enough to be nominated, if they are kind enough to invite her to perform [at the show], no one else is going to perform it, I hope,” Nierob said.
Pitt, meanwhile, looks to have lost a shot at a potential Best Picture Oscar after the Producers Guild of America on Wednesday nominated The Departed for its top award, but only listed Graham King as the crime drama’s producer.
In the film, Pitt, King and Paramount honcho Brad Grey are all listed as producers.
The PGA’s take on who is and isn’t a noteworthy producer is key because the Academy now uses the guild to help vet which producers are eligible for its Best Picture award.
“The producers in the Academy were increasingly bothered by the number of individuals given the producer credit,” Academy executive director Bruce Davis said Thursday. “They thought it was watering down what it means to be a producer.”
As far as the Oscars go, the producers’ guild word isn’t final. Someone who was not deigned credit-worthy by the PGA, such as Pitt or Grey, could file an appeal with the Academy should his or her film go on to snag a Best Picture nomination. Last year, three shut-out producers on Crash tried, and failed, to get in the game that way.
According to Thursday Times’, Grey was undecided about whether he would pursue an Academy appeal should The Departed end up in Oscar’s Best Picture race come the Jan. 23 nominations.
It was not known if Pitt even asked the guild to list him among The Departed’s award-worthy producers. A PGA spokeswoman said Thursday that she couldn’t comment; Pitt’s personal publicist could not be reached for comment.
Per the Times, Grey not only asked the PGA for the credit, he lobbied–hard.
All is not lost, meanwhile, for Pitt and Knowles.
Pitt is still eligible for the acting categories for Babel. Knowles is still being pushed as a Best Actress contender for Dreamgirls.
When it comes to the Oscars, it never hurts to diversify.
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