Venice Controversy: Jury Yanks Top Prize from 'The Master' (Exclusive)
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the jury, led by American filmmaker Michael Mann, was set to award the Golden Lion, the festival's top prize, to the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed feature, but because of a quirk in the festival's rules has decided to give the award instead to Korean director Kim Ki-duk's Pieta.
The awards are bring announced Saturday in Venice.
Apparently during the jury's first deliberations members decided to give The Master the top prize, as well as the Silver Lion directing award to Anderson and the acting award jointly to co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. (Another international critics prize was also heaped on Master.)
But new festival rules apparently prohibit one film from garnering more than two major awards, so the jury was asked to re-deliberate to remove one of the award. After what a source described as a heated session, the jury decided to take the Golden Lion away from Master and give it to Pieta.
Read more: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-controversy-jury-yanks-top-368892
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I'm just waiting for the Repugs to propose a similar rule for this election: that no popular vote winner should be allowed to win the electoral vote as well. 
