Hollywood studio chief loses bid for film credit

LOS ANGELES, Jan 27 (Reuters) Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey has lost a behind-the-scenes bid to claim Oscar credit as a producer of ''The Departed,'' a best-picture nominee distributed by rival studio Warner Bros.

A panel of about 20 Hollywood filmmakers with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided on Thursday night to deny Grey's appeal for a producer's credit on the film, upholding an earlier ruling by the Producers Guild of America.

The decision means just one producer, British-born Graham King, will be permitted to take the stage at the Kodak Theatre on Febbruary 25 to accept the Oscar should ''The Departed'' win for best picture, academy spokesman John Pavlik said yesterday.

The academy has an agreement with the Producers Guild to follow its recommendations in assigning Oscar credit to movies without further review, unless the guild's decision is challenged.

In this case, Grey or individuals acting on his behalf -- the academy will not reveal which -- lobbied Oscar organizers to override the Producers Guild and put the Paramount executive's name back on the film.

Grey, once a leading Hollywood talent manager and film producer, worked on ''The Departed'' before taking the job as chairman and CEO at Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc., and reportedly before shooting on the picture began.

But the Producers Guild decided that King alone deserved credit in terms of Oscar recognition, even though on-screen credits list three others as producer -- Grey, actor Brad Pitt (whose film company Plan B Productions was involved in the movie) and the film's director, Martin Scorsese.

Pavlik said only Grey's omission was challenged.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Scorsese and King supported Grey's appeal, but some in Hollywood saw his campaign as unseemly and egotistical, especially since Grey's own studio has its own best picture nominee, ''Babel.'' Grey issued a statement saying, ''I loved working on 'The Departed' and will always think of it as one of the best times of my career.'' Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., is re-releasing ''The Departed'' this weekend in a bid to capitalize on the attention it received from its five Oscar nominations. ''Babel,'' which garnered seven nominations, is still in theaters.

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