That's a violation of Academy rules against disparaging other films.
The Academy could censure Chartier, take away his Oscar tickets, or even remove "/*The Hurt Locker*/" from best-picture consideration, although that appears unlikely.
With Oscar ballots due Tuesday, the controversy surrounding Chartier's actions may have little effect on the March 7 Academy Awards because most voters have already mailed in their ballots, said one of the academy members.
"Hurt Locker" distributor Summit Pictures said in a statement it was "completely unaware of any e-mails that were sent until we were alerted by the academy earlier this week."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
