Credits for Producers Are Decided

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday settled disputes about the recipients of producer credit on two nominees for best picture, “The Aviator” and “Million Dollar Baby.” The academy was spared a third deliberation because the filmmakers behind “Ray” had independently whittled the credited producers down to three -- the maximum allowed under new rules.

The rules are part of an effort to limit the number of producers who come onstage to collect the top Oscar. But deciding who should be left out has proved to be a sort of “Sophie’s Choice,” as one studio executive put it.

In the bitterly contested “Aviator” determination, credit will go to Michael Mann and Graham King. Mann helped develop the screenplay while King’s Initial Entertainment Group oversaw the production and financed the $110-million movie.

The decision was a blow to Charles Evans Jr., who claimed in a 2001 lawsuit that he developed several drafts of the movie, lined up star Leonardo DiCaprio and helped shape the vision of the picture. The case was settled before it went to trial, and Evans won on-screen producing credit. Evans declined to comment.

The decision also cuts out Sandy Climan, a colleague of Mann’s at Forward Pass Productions, who is listed on-screen as an “Aviator” producer.

An official announcement will be made today about “Million Dollar Baby.” Clint Eastwood, Tom Rosenberg, Al Ruddy and Paul Haggis are the on-screen credited producers. But sources say Haggis will not be recognized by the academy. Eastwood starred in the film and directed. Rosenberg is head of Lakeshore Entertainment, which financed the movie. And Ruddy helped develop the project along with Haggis, who wrote the adapted screenplay. Haggis was unavailable for comment.

Universal Pictures confirmed that “Ray” director Taylor Hackford, his producing partner Stuart Benjamin and Howard Baldwin will be the designated producers when the Oscars are awarded Feb. 27. That means Baldwin’s wife, Karen, who received on-screen credit, will be left out. The Baldwins were aligned with Philip Anschutz’s Crusader Entertainment, which financed the film.