The Oscars got their very own Kanye West moment in little ole Elinore Burkett, producer of Music By Prudence, last night. Her documentary Music By Prudence was the winner of the Best Short Documentary, and apparently there is some bad blood between her and director Roger Ross Williams.
This is what she told Salon.com
“What happened was, the director and I had a bad difference over the direction of the film that resulted in a lawsuit that has settled amicably out of court.
“But there have been all these events around the Oscars, and I wasn’t invited to any of them. And he’s not speaking to me. So we weren’t even able to discuss ahead of the time who would be the one person allowed to speak if we won.
“And then, as I’m sure you saw, when we won, he raced up there to accept the award. And his mother took her cane and blocked me, so I couldn’t get up there very fast.”
Director Roger Ross Williams had this to say:
Only one person is allowed to accept the award. I was the director, and she was removed from the project nearly a year ago, but she was able to still qualify as a producer on the project, and be an official nominee. But she was very angry — she actually removed herself from the project – because she wanted more creative control.
I don’t know what they told her. The academy is very clear that only one person can speak. I own the film. She has no claim whatsoever. She has nothing to do with the movie. She just ambushed me. I was sort of in shock.
On the claim that she told him about the premise for the film:
No, not at all. The truth is that she saw the band perform [in Zimbabwe], and told me about that, and then I opened up a dialogue with the [King George VI School & Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities] school and went on my own – which you would’ve heard about in my speech — and spent $6,000 going to Africa shooting myself. And when people expressed interest in the film, I asked her to come on board. And then I regretted that decision. Then she sued.
Honestly, it sounds like both parties are a bit crazy. Although the ranting and raving she did last night during her speech make me think she is a bit more on the crazy side. Hey, at least it makes for a good highlight reel, right?
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Why is it HE is crazy exactly? This harpie stole his speech, made wild unsupported accusations, and even herself admits that she has no ownership of the materials after a court settlement. yet, she still somehow gets to speak? All this poor guy did was get ambushed by a crazy woman who basically shoved him out of the way of accepting the award for his own film on live international television. Actually, he would have been justified to knock her on the head with the statue. Instead, he took the high road and let this fool get away with her poor behavior. She should be forever barred from ANY Academy events. This poor guy didn't do ANYTHING wrong, and to call them "both" crazy, this writer must be as delusional as Redhead Kanye!
Agree Who Will Give the Acceptance Speech - Time and time during the Academy Awards Ceremony, the first person to the microphone will speak for the full thirty second time limit and not allow the other winners in the group (many seen clutching their own acceptance speech notes) the opportunity to give their acceptance speeches. Where this moment should be one of the happiest moments in their lives, you can see the disappointment on the faces of the winners who didn’t have the opportunity to speak.
When you are working as a team on a project and are receiving an award, agree in advance who the acceptance speaker will be. This might be the team leader, the manager, vice president, etc., but work this out before giving the speech.
If you decide on one person to give the speech, then you need to decide on who will be recognized during the time this person gives the presentation. Also, when speaking for the group, make sure the “I’s” are changed to “We’s.” For example, when speaking for the group say, “We would like to acknowledge the following people…” instead of saying, “I would like to acknowledge the following people…” Remember, the designated speaker is representing the group.
If decision is to have several team members speak, achieve consensus on how much time each person will have to speak so that each person has an equal opportunity to express appreciation.