EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Friend Blasts Academy Over Farrah Fawcett Oscar Tribute Snub; Demands Apology
March 8 2010, Published 3:35 p.m. ET
The fallout over Farrah Fawcett's Oscar memorial snub is reaching a fever pitch Monday, with close friend and controversial filmmaker Craig Nevius calling on the Academy to make a public apology.
Farrah Fawcett Left Out Of In Memoriam Oscar Montage
Craig Nevius, who worked with the Charlie's Angels star on both her reality series Chasing Farrah and the cancer documentary Farrah's Story, exclusively tells RadarOnline.com that producers of the show should be "ashamed".
"Farrah's shocking omission from the 'In Memoriam' montage on the Oscars isn't a reflection of Farrah," Nevius told RadarOnline.
"It's a reflection of the producers and of the Academy itself. After all, this is a broadcast - as opposed to a 'production' - that has become all about shuffling winners on and off stage and cutting off acceptance speeches in order to make more air time for jokes without punchlines and scripted spontaneity the likes of which we haven't seen since vaudeville.
"They should be ashamed of themselves and owe a public apology in the name of Farrah Fawcett."
The legendary actress, who died last June after a public battle with cancer, was absent from the Academy's tribute on Sunday night, which marked the deaths of many stars including Brittany Murphy and Patrick Swayze.
Nevius is the latest to criticize the decision. Jane Fonda was so shocked that Fawcett was left out, she Tweeted: "Where was Farrah Fawcett? She should have been included."
And Screenwriter Roger Ebert also criticized the decision: "No Farrah in the memorial. They have a whole lot of 'splaining (sic) to do."
But Oscar supremos have defended their decision to leave Farrah out of the memorial montage, insisting it's impossible to pay tribute to every
star who passed away in the last year.
As RadarOnline.com has previously reported, Nevius is suing Ryan O'Neal, Alana Stewart-Hamilton and Farrah's business manager Richard Francis,
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accusing them of squeezing him out of Farrah's Story and wresting control of her estate.
In response, the estate, which Francis oversees, has launched legal action against Nevius, claiming his work was second rate and that he
leaked confidential information about Farrah to the media.
