Los Angeles Times

007 actor’s son aims for Oscar

- — Gary Goldstein

How do you win an Oscar? As Geoffrey Moore, son of the late actor Roger Moore, recently discovered, there are no easy answers, despite his hopes to the contrary.

This and other Tinseltown tidbits are covered in the diverting, oddly candid, often satirical documentar­y “And the Winner Isn’t.”

Directed and shot by Nik Panic, this curio tracks Moore’s bumbling learning curve over the six or so months he and 18-year-old producer and daughter Ambra spent in Los Angeles earlier this year. Moore’s goal: to make a feature film — any kind, as he freely admits — that he could exhibit in a theater, thus qualifying it for Academy Award considerat­ion. This is that film.

His aim is inspired by “UNI” (“You and I”), a “We Are the World”-type song Moore wrote with Nigel Martinez to raise money for UNICEF, for which Moore’s dad was a longtime goodwill ambassador. Moore figures if the tune can win an original song Oscar, the publicity would help boost charitable donations.

The privileged Moore amusingly visits his celebrity contacts (Joan Collins, Michael Caine, Stefanie Powers and many more), to research the Oscar game and to assemble a roster of familiar faces to appear in a “UNI” music video.

Roger Moore’s death in May during Geoffrey’s L.A. stay prompts a tender segue about the elder Moore featuring captivatin­g, starstudde­d home movie footage.

“And the Winner Isn’t.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills.

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