A Pre-Oscars Perk Gets Erased

The LA Times ^ | October 1, 2003 | By John Horn and Lorenza Muñoz, Times Staff Writers

[A_Niceguy_in_CA]

A Pre-Oscars Perk Gets Erased

A ban on the distribution of free tapes and DVDs to academy members is meant to deter piracy but sparks a Hollywood outcry. By John Horn and Lorenza Muñoz Times Staff Writers

October 1 2003

One of Hollywood's greatest freebies — the bonanza of DVDs and videocassettes that clogs showbiz mailboxes every awards season — met an abrupt end Tuesday after the major studios agreed to halt their largess in the name of fighting movie piracy.

The self-imposed ban on "for your consideration" copies of current releases carries with it the promise of big changes in Oscar politics and the balance of Hollywood awards power.

Critics of the new rule say smaller films that benefited from easy, living-room exposure will suddenly be less visible than major "must-see" studio productions.

[LTCJ]

A Pre-Oscars Perk Gets Erased

Plastic surgeons on strike?

[Revolting cat!]

Minor bummer! All the Hong Kong DVD's we've been buying will now be made from handheld camera shots inside a movie theater.

[DonQ]

This ban on sending Oscar voters free copies (VHS or DVD) of movies is intended to prevent some unauthorized copying, since these free copies were deluxe quality and made months, or even years, before the usual video store copies would be available.

Since they won't have at-home versions of the films to watch, potential Oscar voters are supposed to see these movies in theatres, like regular folk. But, of course, this won't work out in reality. Some of the Oscar voters are too busy, too far flung, maybe too frail, to go to a theatre that's showing a contender film ... certainly they cannot go to ALL the movies. And a great many independent, foreign, or financially unsuccessful films cannot arrange to have theatrical showings for the Oscar voters; so they'll be completely neglected.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Why not issue the copies, but with some kind of security imprint that alows viewving, but makes it unmarketable.

One could even get creative, and let the sound nominations be issued with excellent sound, but degraded video. Cinematography could be reviews with mono AM-quality sound.

Acting can be evaluated with degraded qulaity, or a grey stripe running through the frame.

And if they don't like it, they can go to the movies, including the special screenings offered by the studios.

[CaptRon]

I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight.

[A_Niceguy_in_CA]

"these free copies were deluxe quality"

Working in the business, I have received several of the screeners seeking my vote in various awards shows and the quaility of the tapes/DVDs is not deluxe at all, just a "quickly made copy viewable with the words like "For Academy Screening use only" scrolling across the top/and or bottom of the screen throught the film or every few minutes.

Yes, they are sent out before retail versions are produced causing the piracy scare.

Funny, most of my co-workers, including top notch directors have bootleg copies of many of theirs and others' films for their own viewing. Of course most would not go to the trouble of pirating them.