What?????
Now Playing: Reactions to the MPAA Screener Rule
Now I know I shouldn't care about this, that the Oscars? are pretty much a joke anyway, but I do. The MPAA recently ratified a rule stating the studios are no longer allowed to send out screening videos and DVDs to those who vote for end-of-year awards. Jack Valenti, better known as the guy you've never heard of who somehow warrants a presenter spot on the Oscars? every year, says that the reason behind this is that video pirates are getting a hold of these things and selling them to the public. OK, I'm sorry, but this seems far-fetched to me. Most movies that get Oscar? consideration aren't exactly big sellers on the black market in my opinion. Maybe I've got my head up my butt, but I don't know if anyone was really aching for a pirated video of The Hours last January. And the big-money items like Lord of the Rings were just as likely to be videotaped by some guy with a camera on a slow day at the multiplex.

Not every Academy member is able to see fifty movies in theatres during awards season and then nominate accordingly, so the screeners were helpful. Instead of setting aside a whole evening to go to the theatre to see one movie, they could curl up on the couch and watch two or three, stopping a movie when they didn't like it and moving to the next. And while a TV screen is a poor substitute for theatrical viewing, it is better than nothing. This is especially true for people who are on location, sometimes far from a theatre that's showing anything but the biggest blockbusters.

No, what this whole fiasco reeks of is Hollywood protecting its own. An Academy member only sees a handful of movies a year in theatres, and odds are good that they'll be the big-ticket titles. The screeners were good because they exposed busy stars to smaller-budget films they might not have seen otherwise. Now with this new rule, what's going to happen is that the nominees are going to be a more populist lot, with most voters drawing from a much smaller number of films seen than in years past. The big studios, who have money to book theatres for Academy screenings and to pony up the dough for nice For Your Consideration ads, will reap the whirlwind. And the little guys will suffer. Gone are the days when the little-seen The Pianist can seriously compete for Best Picture or when Halle Berry can win for Monster's Ball.

I'm not saying piracy is a good thing. It's kind of sad, actually. But the MPAA is going about this completely the wrong way. Instead of banning screeners altogether, find some way to crack down on piracy. Research ways of tracking the DVDs so that pirated copies can be traced back to the Academy member to which they were sent. Or how about this- remember DIVX? The DVD-esque discs that only had a limited number of viewings, and then when you couldn't watch them anymore you had to pay to watch them again? Send out limited-viewing, non-refreshable screeners to voters. But banning screeners altogether is misguided thinking. If someone does engage in piracy, then crack down on that person. Don't make everyone pay for the mistakes of a few.

The Oscars-? have always been about selling Hollywood to the people. If this legislation indeed goes through, the Oscar? winners will become more and more populist until they're barely distinguishable from the Blockbuster Movie Awards. I'm not trying to sound like a snob or anything, but think about it, Jack. What's the use of giving Best Picture to a popular movie? Sure, everyone feels great that they've all seen it, but in the end it's like selling a vacuum cleaner to a guy who already owns one- an empty gesture. The Oscar? logo on a DVD box has always traditionally led to a drastic increase in sales, so why not try to lead the way instead of simply following the crowd?