Will 'Hurt Locker' Oscar flap hurt 'Hurt Locker'?

"Hurt Locker" producers (from left) Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Greg Shapiro and Nicolas Chartier at the recent British Academy Awards.   (Courtesy:  smh.com.au/Reuters)

Big news from Hollywood:

Now that the polls have closed on Oscar voting (as of 7 p.m. Central Time Tuesday), the Academy Awards police have banned "Hurt Locker" producer Nicolas Chartier from Sunday night's awards ceremony for "an ethical lapse."

But that's not the big news:

There are ethics police in Hollywood?

Now we're talking something of stop-the-presses (or press releases) noteworthiness.

According to an item posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, even though Chartier (one of four "Hurt Locker" producers) can't take his seat at the Kodak Theater Sunday night, he would eventually get his golden statuette.

The producer's hand was slapped by the executive committee of the Producer's Branch during a special session on Tuesday.

"Chartier disseminated an e-mail to certain Academy voters and other film industry figures in which he solicited votes for his own picture and disparaged one of the other contending films. Academy rules prohibit 'casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film.'

"In the e-mail, Chartier encouraged those who liked 'Hurt Locker' to vote for it as best picture over 'the $500 million film,' an obvious reference to 'Avatar,'" the Hollywood Reporter article stated.

With the outcome of most of the acting races listed as virtual shoo-ins going into the Oscars shindig on ABC Sunday night, the only real awards drama could come in the showdown between friendly exes James Cameron ("Avatar") and Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") in the best picture category.

Time will tell if Chartier's actions shaded the voting in the big night's most important race.  Or maybe we'll never find out.

Maybe the Hollywood ethics police should check that out as well.