Uggie Might Not Show Up, While Brett Ratner Returns February 15, 2012, 5:05 pm While the Bagger has been focusing on special effects and chimp eyes, there have been a few developments in the awards world today. For instance, it's been more than 24 hours since the last Uggie update and the Bagger's pals at Vulture kindly stepped in with this bulletin: Uggie, four-footed star of "The Artist," may not take part in the Oscars. While Uggie has appeared on red carpets all over the world, the Weinstein Company says that he hasn't been asked to make an appearance on the big day. If the show's producers know, they're not saying, as the Bagger's colleague Michael Cieply has reported. Speaking of Oscar producers, remember the one who resigned in November after he set off a firestorm over his anti-gay slur? That's right, Brett Ratner, and after apologizing at the time, he's moved onto the image-rebuilding career phase by helping the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, with a campaign. According to a press release, he will produce and direct a series of videos that "will feature Hollywood celebrities, athletes, musicians and politicians "coming out of the closet" as supporters of equality." Finally, tensions between Iran and Israel may be ratcheting up, but film-wise, the countries share some common interests. Variety reports that Israelis are so intrigued by "A Separation," the Iranian frontrunner in the race for the foreign-language Oscar, that a local distributor, Shani Films, has picked up the film and is showing it in Farsi with Hebrew subtitles. One of "A Separation's" main competitors for the Oscar is "Footnote," Israel's submission, and that has raised interest in the race. No word on whether the Iranians be showing "Footnote."