Date: 27th October 2003

Academy Awards DVD ban lifted


A ban on preview DVDs of new films being sent to Academy Awards voters has been lifted by awards organisers.
Oscar jurors will now be able to receive specially encoded "screener" copies if they sign an agreement promising to protect the films.

Hollywood studios and Oscar bosses hope the move will reduce the number of films being illegally pirated.

But film critics' groups and other awards organisers who were left out of the deal said it was "unfair" that they were still excluded.

The compromise has been reached by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Oscars organisers the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

It means DVDs and tapes will be sent to Academy voters only, leaving other award juries unable to receive the screeners.

Source: Press Release