Can 'The Artist' Have It Both Ways? | The Wrap Awards

If "The Artist" wins the Academy Award for Best Picture on Sunday night, it will be the first film from a non-English speaking country to win the award.

Or will it?

The Academy says the black-and-white silent film was made by a number of European production companies.

But the Film Independent Spirit Awards says it qualifies as an American production.

"The Artist" truly crosses boundaries in an international filmmaking landscape where national borders are increasingly blurry.

Also read: Oscar's in Desperate Need of Surprises -- Here's Where They Could Come From

It was launched in Paris but shot in Hollywood. Its title cards are in English, written by a Frenchman ? but on the set, its star said, "We spoke in English, in French, in gibberish, in dog language."

The Frenchman who wrote and directed the film ? and who, according to paperwork submitted to Film Independent, has permanent U.S. resident status ? offered a useful talking point when he won the DGA Award: "I'm not American, and I'm not French, actually. I'm a filmmaker."

The Academy lists "The Artist" as the product of seven different production companies. Five of them ? La Petite Reine, Studio 37, JD Prod, Jouror Productions and France 3 Cinema ? are listed as being France-based by IMDb Pro; one, uFilm Production, is based in Brussels.

Only La Classe Americaine, director Michel Hazanavicius' company, does not have a location listed.

Also read: Awards Season Is Going to the Dogs, Thanks to Uggie from 'The Artist'

On the Weinstein Co.'s submission form for the Spirit Awards, it indicated that the film received partial financing from a company whose principal office is in the United States, and also that writer-director Hazanavicius was a permanent U.S. resident.

Either of those factors would qualify the film as American under Spirit Awards rules.

Hazanavicius is certainly no stranger to blurred lines of nationality. His company, Le Classe Americaine, is named after a 1993 movie he made for French television by taking footage from old American films, re-editing it and dubbing it into French.

Also read: 'Take Shelter,' 'The Artist' Lead Indie Spirit Award Nominations

So when Hazanavicius shows up at the Spirit Awards on Saturday afternoon (fresh from a couple of weeks in Paris), he'll be the director of an American indie film.

And when he leaves the Oscars the next evening, he might be the director of the first French film to ever win Best Picture.

Or maybe, as his film has been insisting all along, language and nationality won't matter at all.

Related Wrap Stories

Source: http://www.thewrap.com/column-post/will-artist-need-passport-get-oscar-stage-35668

alabama lsu bcs national championship bcs championship bcs national championship 2012 university of alabama national championship game bcs game