Awards News

Yari, who filed suit against the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and the Producers Guild of America before the Oscars two years ago, called Tuesday's decision unfortunate, especially given the stature of the Acad in Hollywood.

The Academy, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief on news that a ruling had come down from the State of California appellate court, as the long court battle centering on "Crash" seemed to be finally drawing to a close.

"It is not a surprise to us, but it is nice to be assured that the courts don't want to be in the business of deciding who wins an Academy Award," said AMPAS exec director Bruce Davis.

Yari had accused the Acad and guild of tarnishing his reputation and denying him the recognition, prestige, financial and professional benefits he would have gained with a producer's credit. He also sought injunctive relief prohibiting the orgs from making future credit determinations in the current manner.

But the appeals court agreed that the right of fair procedure Yari invoked did not apply to decisions private orgs make about their own awards. The producer decried the ruling, insinuating darkly about the consequences.

"It is unfortunate that the court has decided the law will not provide any due process protection -- on a very publicly visible organization which represents our industry -- to decisions on qualifications based on solid standards," Yari said in a statement. "Now, decisions made by potentially misinformed individuals, with all sorts of possible conflicts of interest, can be made behind closed doors without any concern for scrutiny on fairness."

The Acad changed its rules about producer eligibility in 2005, the same year "Crash" was eligible, limiting the number of producers to three or fewer based on a determination of which producers played substantive roles. "Crash" co-writer and director Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman were deemed eligible; Yari, a big financial backer, was not.

The following year, there was additional hullabaloo when two of the five "Little Miss Sunshine" producers didn't make the cut for Oscar recognition. However, the point became moot when "The Departed" won the best pic statuette.

And Yari applauded the Acad's willingness to soften its earlier edict when the situation calls for it.

"I am encouraged that the Academy, on its own accord, has taken steps to distance itself from the arcane and unfair process that was arbitrarily created by the PGA before "Crash" was submitted for awards consideration," he said.