AceShowbiz - Hollywood film-makers have reportedly been left reeling after Academy Award bosses refused to punish "The Hurt Locker" producer Nicolas Chartier over his voting campaign until after March ceremony. Chartier emailed colleagues on Friday, February 19 in a bid to rally support for the war movie, urging them to cast their votes in favor of the film in the Best Picture category before ballots close on March 2.

He seemingly took aim at rival Best Picture nominee "Avatar" by writing, "Please tell your friends who vote for the Oscars, if everyone tells one or two of their friends, we will win and not a $500 million film, we need independent movies to win." Officials at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - who choose the Oscar winners - ban campaigns to boost votes, and Chartier immediately apologized once his email went public.

Academy bosses organized an emergency meeting, in which they discussed how to deal with Chartier's rule-breaking - but their decision not to dish out a punishment until after the March 7 event has infuriated fellow moviemakers, according to New York Post gossip column PageSix. An unnamed director tells the publication, "What bumbling bulls**t and ineptitude. They're p**sys and they're playing favorites."