Compromise Reached On Film Screening Tapes
By Sharon Waxman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 24, 2003; Page C04
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 23 -- Peace broke out in Hollywood on Thursday after movie industry leaders struck a compromise allowing for carefully controlled distribution of free cassettes to Oscar voters during the upcoming awards season.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the major studios, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which conducts the Academy Awards, announced the agreement for the tapes, called screeners, to go to Oscar voters only.
Under the accord, the screeners will be numbered VHS cassettes rather than easily copied DVDs. The tapes will bear invisible coding that will allow them to be traced if they end up in the hands of pirates.
The moguls who run the major studios decided this month to ban the distribution of free movies in an attempt to crack down on piracy. The screeners often end up sold on the Internet or on the black market abroad.
The compromise quells, at least for now, a revolt among Hollywood's creative community -- actors, directors, writers, critics and producers of small movies -- who protested that the ban would make it impossible for small, art-house movies to compete for awards and, ultimately, to be seen by a broader public.
But some are already criticizing the compromise as creating a two-tier system in Hollywood. Academy members will have easy access to all the movies released during the year, but those who vote on other awards -- the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America, critics' groups and the Golden Globes -- will have to scramble to see hundreds of movies in the theater.
Warner Bros. spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti countered that the studios had to draw the line somewhere, and the Oscars were the most inclusive of all the awards. "The academy is the only organization that represents all disciplines in the industry," she said. "The other disciplines that are involved are too many; you can't control it in this short a period of time."
AMPAS President Frank Pierson came up with the compromise, which requires academy members to sign contracts taking responsibility for any screeners they accept. Under the contract, members could lose their seats in the academy if their screeners are found on the black market.
MPAA President Jack Valenti met Thursday with the heads of the seven major studios represented by the MPAA, and of DreamWorks SKG, to secure their agreement.
Since the ban, hundreds of prominent Hollywood figures have protested, among them Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson and Keanu Reeves.
Valenti said the compromise was valid only for this year and would be considered a "worthy experiment."
"This compromise makes clear what's been our intent all along, to address seriously the issue of piracy," MPAA spokesman Rich Taylor said. "Hearing the legitimate concerns expressed by those representing smaller films, we wanted to make sure that the policy allowed all films to compete on an equal playing field. This end result clearly does that."
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
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