The red carpet is ready to roll and Jon Stewart is practising his one-liners, but just days before the Oscars take place the makers of one of the contenders for best film are embroiled in a bitter feud over who deserves producer credits.
Real estate mogul and movie financier Bob Yari yesterday sued the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after both denied him recognition as a producer of Crash, Paul Haggis's critically acclaimed tale of racial tension in LA.
Yari claims the organisations denied him "fair process" when making their decisions and has asked the Los Angeles superior court to rule that both must identify those responsible for deciding credits, and make it easier for those wronged to challenge results. He also wants undisclosed damages.
It also emerged yesterday that Crash's official producers Cathy Schulman and Tom Nunan have counter-sued Mr Yari for millions in alleged withheld profits. They also claim he damaged their reputations and used Crash, a joint venture, to promote interests that were his alone.
The flurry of activity took place yesterday because all three were waiting for final Oscars balloting to close on Tuesday before making their respective legal moves.
Mr Yari sued Ms Schulman and Mr Nunan back in January for allegedly misdirecting funds at their Bulls Eye Entertainment, but Ms Schulmann's lawyer, Melvin Avanzado, said his client's countersuit had been in the works well before this.
In a move not calculated to settle tensions between the parties Mr Avanzado also revealed that he played a part in helping to persuade the Producer's Guild to exclude Mr Yari from receiving a producer credit on Crash, a decision then followed by the Academy.
Ms Schulman's counter-suit reads: "Like an impetuous child, Yari retaliated against Schulman after the Producers Guild of America prevented Yari from using his influence, money and litigious threats to buy himself awards recognition for Crash, which Schulman (and others) produced."
However Ms Schulman herself denies influencing the guild, saying she, if anything, acknowledged Mr Yari's contributions. Mr Yari took out a full-page "open letter" yesterday in the Hollywood trade magazines to put his case.
In his suit, he said: "This case is not about abstractions - it is about Bob Yari, an extraordinary film-maker who has produced an extraordinary motion picture: Crash.
"Yet, for reasons he has never been told, by persons who have never been identified, first the Producers Guild and then the Academy have denied Mr Yari the ultimate professional acclaim and the accompanying creative and economic benefits to which his labours entitle him."
