Barred Hurt Locker Producer Nicolas Chartier Thrilled About Plastic Trophy

It was the moment of a lifetime for Nicolas Chartier, who'd just heard his name cited among the producers of the Best Picture-winning The Hurt Locker. He'd been handed his trophy, and the crowd around him cheered passionately in his honor. If only he'd been at the Kodak Theater instead of under a tent in Malibu.

Reporters from indieWIRE were among the hundreds who gathered with Chartier off-site to watch the Academy Awards, from which the financier/co-producer had been barred last week for aggressive campaigning. Upon Locker's announcement as the year's Best Picture, a guest deployed a plastic Oscar to Chartier before he made a speech... that went on... forever...

"Making films is tough, but we're so lucky, we do something we love," Chartier said last night, "It's not about the girls, money, and fame," he added, pausing for a response from the raucous crowd. Laughter and cheers.

"It's about the movies," Chartier continued, "This is what we live for, to tell stories, to make people laugh and cry. To entertain and sometimes to make art."

"We have this chance to live our passion," he concluded, "So keep knocking on doors and keep making movies, everyone."

Yes, keep making movies, everyone. And when the man they're ostensibly about sues you for defamation, keep sending off those awesome e-mails about stealing his girlfriend. This is a brave new era! Check the video below if you want to really immerse yourself in the Chartier Experience -- and who wouldn't, right down to the "BANNED" posters featuring the producer's smirking grill and the jumbo Oscar statue wearing a red beret? This is as much a part of Oscar history as Kanye Burkett and Jilted Jason Reitman. You take one, you take them all.

[Top photo via iW]

· Nicolas Chartier: "This is what its about, being passionate for independent movies." [IndieWIRE]

· Nicolas Chartier's Oscar acceptance speech [In Contention via HE]