Two Academy Awards shows in the works in case strike remains unresolved
LOS ANGELES - An Oscars contingency plan that would include history, film clips and out-of-the-ordinary concepts for the awards show is in the works, academy president Sid Ganis said Wednesday.
With the writers strike dragging dangerously close to the Feb. 24 telecast, the film academy is planning two Oscar shows: "The show we would love to do and . . . a show that we would prefer not to do," Ganis said.
The traditional, star-studded glamour-fest is in the works in case an agreement is reached. If not, organizers are working on a second show that will include "history and packages of film and concepts that are not normally ones that we would have for the show if we were moving straight ahead."
The show will go on regardless of talks status, he said.
"We have an obligation to the art form to present the Oscars, so we have to deal with the possibility of not being able to do the show because of pickets or agreements not being concluded," Ganis said.
Meanwhile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is talking with striking writers, said spokeswoman Leslie Unger. She declined to provide details.
"We have made contact with the guild," Unger said. "We want to be able to do the kind of Oscar show that we always do, and we want to create the circumstances that will allow us to do that."
Whether or not the strike is resolved by showtime Feb. 24, producer Gil Cates hopes writers will decide not to picket the Academy Awards.
"This show, in my view, is really above politics," he said.
"It is wrong to treat the show as anything other than a gift from all the people who work in this business, really, to the exceptional talent and the community and the country."
He noted the writers guild has said its members will not picket next month's Grammy or Image awards.
"It's hard for me to believe that they would picket a show that really honours their own," Cates said.
Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards were announced last week. In past years, presenters were announced one-by-one before or shortly after the nominations, but none have been named so far this year.
Final ballots were mailed Wednesday to the 5,829 voting members of the academy. They are due back Feb. 19.
“Once” Again, a Legit Nominee
At the 11th hour, members of the executive committee of the music branch of the Academy met and decided that in spite of some questions about the validity of “Falling Slowly,” a nominee for best song from the movie “Once”, the song was eligible and would be on ballots that shipped tomorrow morning. Charles Bernstein, chairman of the music branch executive committee, speaking to the Bagger by phone, read part of the committee’s statement on the matter:
The Academy’s music branch executive committee has met and endorsed the validity of “Falling Slowly” as a nominated achievement. The committee relied on written assurances and detailed chronologies provided by songwriter of “Falling Slowly,” the writer-director of “Once” and Fox Searchlight.
The genesis of the picture was unusually protracted, but director John Carney and songwriter Glen Hansard were working closely together in 2002 when the project that became ‘Once’ was discussed. ‘Falling Slowly’ began to be composed, but the actual script and financing for the picture was delayed for several years, during which time Mr. Hansard and his collaborator Marketa Irglova played the song in some venues that were deemed inconsequential enough to not change the song’s eligibility.
Mr. Bernstein said he had called Mr. Hansard in Dublin with the news and described him as “delighted.” Mr. Bernstein said that various parties had raised questions about whether the song had been performed and/or recorded before it became part of the movie, but said that the committee was satisfied that it was written for the film and as such represented a song writing achievement worthy of inclusion in the nominees.
“We needed to address whether the song was written specifically for the film and the second issue was whether it had been played prior to the inclusion in the film — did this constitute a reason to ineligible-ize it,” said Mr. Bernstein. “The first issue was satisfied by a sworn statements attesting to the fact that it was written for the film along with a chronology, and the second issue was settled by the fact that it had only been performed in Europe and the Czech Republic and not in a way that would have given it advantage or influence here.”
Mr. Bernstein said he was happy the issue was resolved and that he was proud of the fact that the Academy and his committee were willing to work up to the last minute to see that any outstanding issues were addressed before the ballots were shipped.
Haggis takes Hwy61 to United Artists
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Filmmaker Paul Haggis has inked an overall deal with United Artists that will have the Oscar winner writing, producing and possibly directing projects with the studio through his newly created Hwy61 production shingle.
Under the terms of the pact, which is nonexclusive and leaves Haggis free to collaborate elsewhere, the "Crash" director is expected to produce two films a year with his producing partner Michael Nozik.
First up for Hwy61 -- the name is taken from the Bob Dylan song "Highway 61 Revisited" -- will be an adaptation of the children's literature series "Ranger's Apprentice," with Haggis writing the screenplay with his daughter Alissa and possibly directing. UA optioned the rights to the fantasy series by Australian author John Flanagan this month.
Also under the newly struck partnership, the Santa Monica-based Hwy61 and the Paula Wagner/Tom Cruise-helmed studio have optioned the rights to the Joseph Weisberg novel "An Ordinary Spy."
Haggis, who co-wrote and directed the Oscar-winning "Crash" and the recent Iraq War drama "In the Valley of Elah" and wrote the screenplay for the Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby," said he hopes to create a home for writers and directors.
This latest venture marks more movement for the independently run UA, which this month picked up the remake rights to the Spanish film "Los Cronocrimenes," to be produced by Steve Zaillian. That deal marked the first the studio has made since signing an interim agreement with the striking Writers Guild of America.