The conspiracy raging against 'Slumdog Millionaire' Final ballots for the 81st Academy Awards should land in Oscar voters mailboxes beginning today, so it's only natural that the final shots should be fired as well.
Most of the damning allegations are being hurled against Fox Searchlight's "Slumdog Millionaire," rather obvious since the film is the unquestioned front-runner and an easy target for rivals. As noted earlier in this column, forces were at work in India trying to disparage Danny Boyle's surprise hit and awards magnet leading to a front page L.A. Times story last Saturday pointing out some of the negative criticism essentially saying the film is a "white man's" vision of a slum-ridden India. Today, a story kicking around since early in the season about the treatment of some of the local Indian child actors reared its ugly head again with allegations that the film's producers and distributors paid them dirt cheap wages and have not been concerned with their welfare. Director Boyle, producer Christian Colson and Fox quickly prepared and issued a statement not only refuting those charges but pointing out exactly what measures have been taken to protect and insure each child's welfare and future. It wasn't so much the story (it almost never is) but the suspicious circumstances around its reemergence on the very day Oscar ballots were being mailed. Impressively taking a cue from the Obama campaign, Fox Searchlight strategists immediately got control of the story putting a statement out that carefully answered each allegation. Rather than ignoring it and hoping it would go away (a favorite, but usually failed public relations strategy by wuss publicists), they took an aggressive stance to crush the story in its tracks before it could do serious damage or be misinterpreted by Academy voters. This kind of thing has been going on in modern Oscar campaigns now for years, particularly since the Denzel Washington boxing picture "The Hurricane" got pummeled for accuracy and was swept out of the race before it began. The most famous example was the case against Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind." The case turned into a front page New York Times story. Having been burned with "Hurricane," Universal wasted no time in taking on the mud slinging against "Beautiful Mind" and eventually wound up winning four Oscars including best picture. I spoke to a senior Fox executive who said he found these tactics appearing against "Slumdog" to be "reprehensible." He added that "it's a sad state of affairs for the industry that the race for Oscar has to come down to this level". The exec does not believe this story was just a coincidence of timing and theorized that there were probably "other factors" that had something to do with fanning the flames against "Slumdog" at a critical time in the Academy process. He offered no concrete proof, however, of his conspiracy theories because there does not seem to be an iota of evidence to that end but did name names anyway (ones we won't repeat here). The Searchlight contingent isn't letting the pressure get to them and were even thrown a celebratory party by Fox Co-Chairman Jim Gianopulos Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, others are busy offering new theories as to how front- runner "Slumdog" can't possibly win in the end. At least two different consultants this week have tried to downplay the effect of the various guild awards this year ("Slumdog" has already won Producers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild awards with Directors Guild of America lurking in the wings on Saturday) saying the memberships of the guilds no longer dovetail with the Academy and therefore can't be relied on to accurately foretell the ultimate Oscar victor (unless of course YOUR movie is the one that is WINNING!!!). "Watch 'Button' overtake 'Slumdog' for the big prize. Because it's the kind of film career movie people would prefer seeing as best pic during their watch," one publicist with a definite dog in the hunt predicted. I've heard similar things from "The Reader" and "Frost Nixon" camps as well, so take it with a grain of salt and a glass of "Milk." The publicist DID add a reminder of his vote-telling prowess as he waxed nostalgic for his prediction earlier this month that "The Dark Knight" wouldn't make the mix. He was right on that but can "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" make a real case now as a potential upset winner over "Slumdog"? The case of "Crash" doing the impossible and overtaking "Brokeback Mountain" is the great hope other film camps point to the most but it's frustrating in the least to see one movie repeatedly win. The Boyle flick has so far prevailed at the National Board Of Review, Critics Choice, Golden Globes, SAG and PGA awards. Just DGA, Writers Guild of America and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards still offer head-to-head contests to come. Could a momentum changer be in store offering a final twist to a topsy turvy season? Indeed "Slumdog" is now in the enviable position of having the wind at its back. And just WHO wants to be a "Millionaire"? The other four contenders of course, all looking for any way to ward off what increasingly seems to be a done deal. Let the voting begin now. Ballots are due back on Feb. 17. -- Pete Hammond http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/season/2009/01/the-conspiracy.html