Scheider was twice nominated for an Academy Award during his life, and Newton is determined to do what he can to make sure his late star lands a third nod.
The director must screen his unfinished movie at least once before Christmas (09) for it to meet consideration deadlines.
Roy Scheider, who earned his nominations for All That Jazz and The French Connection, died after losing his battle with cancer in 2007.
Newton tells the Los Angeles Times he has turned his Beverly Hills home into a 24/7 production house with teams of editors and sound mixers working in shifts to complete the drama, in which Scheider plays a Holocaust survivor and retired cop who travels to Nuremberg to reconcile with his son, and unexpectedly encounters a man he suspects is the the Nazi commander responsible for his family’s deaths during World War Two.
The director says, “This is what Roy would have wanted. Battling with cancer, Roy put every ounce of effort into his performance. His performance is magnificent, but obviously it’s up to other people to decide that. We are honouring Roy Scheider by putting this up for the academy.”
