Four producers on 'The Reader'

 

Oscar rules aren't meant to be broken, but they can bend. 

Final decision: There are four credited producers on "The Reader," wiping away that "TBD" that had appeared under the Holocaust film title last week when it was nominated for best picture.

Here's the Academy statement:

"Because four producers were listed on the credits form submitted for Oscar consideration and Academy rules allow for only three producers -- except in "a rare and extraordinary circumstance" -- to be nominated and potentially receive Oscar statuettes, a meeting of the executive committee was necessary. In the end, the committee determined that the circumstances of "The Reader" -- in which the two original producers (Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack) both died partway through the process -- met its definition of "rare and extraordinary" and that all four submitted individuals should be named as nominees."