Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.
Beyond a snub. It was just a week or so ago that I was congratulating Enthuse Entertainment for its Best Song nomination at the upcoming Oscars. Now, comes this report from the LA Times: Citing direct campaigning that created “the appearance of an unfair advantage,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revoked an Oscar nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” the tune from the faith-based movie of the same name that had been nominated for original song.
The academy said that Bruce Broughton, a music branch executive committee member who wrote the song’s music, had emailed members of the branch during the voting period, a rule violation. No new nominee will be named; only four nominees will be eligible for the Oscar.
In a release Wednesday, the academy said the board of governors had made the decision in a vote Tuesday night after concluding that Broughton “had emailed members of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period.”
In the statement, academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said the actions were a perception problem, though she stopped short of saying that it actually had led to the song being shortlisted. “No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one’s position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage,” she said.
Read Previous Post