As presumed, any scenario edging out the late Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella would have been anathema to the Academy and their Mirage Enterprises colleagues alike, but the Oscars' ironclad "three-producer" rule would have necessitated choosing one or the other of co-producers Donna Gigliotti and Redmond Morris — both responsible for much of the actual work rushing The Reader to eligibility in 2008. Then there was the Rudin Factor, bolstered by recent rumors that the man who yanked his name after a grievous tiff with Harvey Weinstein wasn't prepared to leave awards season empty-handed, or at least without another invitation to the annual nominees luncheon.

But Rudin is officially out for good, and Gigliotti and Morris will join their late counterparts in spirit on Feb. 22 per a release distributed this afternoon:

Because four producers were listed on the credits form submitted for Oscar consideration and Academy rules allow for only three producers – except in “a rare and extraordinary circumstance” – to be nominated and potentially receive Oscar statuettes, a meeting of the executive committee was necessary. In the end, the committee determined that the circumstances of The Reader – in which the two original producers (Minghella and Pollack) both died partway through the process – met its definition of “rare and extraordinary” and that all four submitted individuals should be named as nominees.

We agree — it's only fair. And anything that keeps Martin Vega extra busy is fine by us.

• ‘The Reader’ Goes Forward With Four Producers [Carpetbagger]

Today, however, brings renewed optimism from Harvey, who planted a sigh of relief in Variety that The Reader has legs:

After a successful screening in New York of The Reader, the Weinstein Co. has decided to release the film for Oscar contention this year. ...

[G]iven the strong reaction to the test screening, the Weinstein Co. has decided to go full throttle on securing a release date and mobilizing the marketing materials.

We can't say we're holding our breath, but along with Revolutionary Road, Rudin's got both of Winslet's Oscar turns for '08 — plus a wealth of Minghella/Pollack memorial goodwill to spare within the Academy. It's a no-brainer, but still — is this the same "full throttle" that so, ahem, mobilized the Weinsteins' Grace is Gone and Factory Girl? And who would survive a New Year's death-match between Harvey and Rudin if the throttle dies, anyway? So many questions!

[Photo Credit: Flynet Online]

• Minghella-Pollack film eyes Oscar run [Variety]

Pollack was an even more prolific producer, sharing credits on nearly four dozen titles including last year's Best Picture nominee Michael Clayton — in which he also acted opposite George Clooney. His other acting credits include Husbands and Wives, Eyes Wide Shut, and most recently, Made of Honor. Pollack was a partner of the late Anthony Minghella in Mirage Productions, which pushed virtually all of the directors' respective projects over the last 10 years as well as the upcoming Kate Winslet film The Reader; it remains to be seen what will happen with Mirage's first-look deal with The Weinstein Company and other projects in development.

• Sydney Pollack, 73; Oscar-winning director and producer [LAT]

Now that the shock of Anthony Minghella's sudden death has dissipated slightly, I think it's less unseemly to say that this brilliant and soulful filmmaker died unfulfilled. ... And I can't help thinking that what happened has something to do with someone whose name rhymes with Shmarvey Shmeinstein. ...

Why did he complete only six films (counting one in the can) in the eighteen years between Truly, Madly, Deeply and his death? Where were the gutsy little modestly budgeted movies — good or bad or uneven — that could have kept him rooted? ... It's not that he was forced to make crap. It's not that his movies were entirely mangled by big hairy paws. It's that an artist who could have set an example for gutsy personal filmmaking surrendered his autonomy — as so many others have done — in the name of someone (or shmomeone) else's ego.

Look, it's a dense essay that deserves a complete read-through. Nevertheless, the downplaying of Minghella's accountability for his own work — including five collaborations with Miramax and The Weinstein Company — is one of several glaring vacuums into which a relapsing Harvey is no doubt exhaling full packs' worth of cigarette smoke and blinking pure Diet Coke tears this afternoon. And while we don't necessarily believe that Harvey is capable of this kind of lethal sociopathy with his filmmakers, we'd strongly encourage Edelstein to listen closely to any unmarked parcels for a few seconds before opening them.

• How (and Why) Anthony Minghella's Talent Wasn't Quite Fulfilled [NY Mag]

An official statement from producers Marina Grasic and Emmanuel Benbihy noted, "Anthony chose Shekhar Kapur to direct the segment he wrote for our film knowing that Kapur would have the deepest respect for his vision."

Meanwhile, the British television premiere of Minghella's final film, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, performed exceedingly well on its Easter Sunday bow, nabbing a 27% share — or roughly 6. 7 million viewers — between 9 and 10:45 p.m. The film is slated to launch an HBO series by first-quarter 2009.

• 'Detective Agency' finds big auds [Variety]

He was my mentor, my partner and, most of all, my brother. The grace, joy and tenderness he brought to his films were symbolic of his life and the many people he touched. There are many personal and professional moments we have shared together and I will treasure them for the rest of my life."

Jude Law, who co-starred in Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain and Breaking and Entering, described to The Guardian "a sweet, warm, bright and funny man" who "made work feel like fun." He also kept work in the family, with his actor son Max currently on location in Malta shooting Agora with The Others filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar and his daughter Hannah recently signing on as production boss at Sony Pictures Animation.

In addition to winning an Oscar for directing The English Patient and earning adapted screenplay nominations for that film, Ripley and Cold Mountain, he also directed the opera Madame Butterfly in both London and New York and was set to return to Gotham for more Met libretto-writing duties at an unspecified future date.

We still have unanswered questions, however, about Minghella's segment of New York, I Love You, a short-film anthology surely no longer best known for the travails of Natalie Portman and her doomed Hasidic co-star. Reached by Defamer via phone this morning, a staffer at the film's Beverly Hills production company Beneroya Pictures declined comment on the status or prognosis of Minghella's short or how his death affects the remaining entries.

We'll stay on this just as we wish Minghella's family the best; we hope you'll do both as well.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

• Anthony Minghella Dies at 54 [Source]
• Oscar-winning director Minghella dead [The Guardian]

Also Oscar-nominated for his screenplay adaptations of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain, Minghella recently wrapped his Bostwana-based production The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. He also had a segment in the works for the forthcoming anthology New York, I Love You and shares producer credits on no fewer than four projects in development, including the Weinstein Company's Oscar-season hopeful The Reader. Representatives for TWC were unavailable this morning when contacted for comment .

• Oscar-Winning Director Minghella Dies [AOL]