Judge to rule on movie screener ban
From Rachel Wells
CNN
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A judge will rule Friday whether to temporarily lift a ban on screener videos as the motion picture industry's awards season moves into high gear.
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Screeners are promotional copies of films -- either on tape or DVD -- provided by studios to potential voters for various movie awards.
Both the National Board of Review and the Independent Film Producers Wednesday released their lists of the year's best films and performances, marking the opening of the feverish Hollywood awards season.
Meanwhile, a coalition of independent film producers were in a New York courtroom asking a federal judge to overturn the major Hollywood studios' controversial clampdown on promotional screeners, at least temporarily.
Concerned that the ban is in effect while voting is underway for a myriad of prestigious end-of-the-year honors from critics associations to industry unions, the producers asked the judge to intercede on a short-term basis, while a multi-million dollar anti-trust lawsuit they filed against the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in November awaits a court date.
The MPAA says the new restrictions on screeners allows the studios to combat piracy.
Representatives from both sides testified at Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mukasey in an evidentiary hearing on the independent producers request that the ban lifted so they can send out screeners to potential voters.
"In the last several years, piracy has been the dominant issue that has consumed my life," MPAA president Jack Valenti said in court. He said MPAA staff told him over the summer that piracy traced from promotional screener tapes has become a "growing portion" of the piracy problem.
A 12-member group of independent film producers filed suit last month against the MPAA, which initially implemented the ban on screeners in September and later loosened the restriction to allow tapes to be sent only to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences-- the group that bestows the Oscars.
The plaintiffs claim the violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act and are seeking damages of at least $25 million. The group of twelve entities filing suit include Robert Altman's Sandcastle 5 Productions; Antidote International Films, which produced films this year including "Laurel Canyon" and "Thirteen"; and This Is That Corporation, which turned out this year's "21 Grams" and "American Splendor." Also included are the New York and Los Angeles chapters of the Independent Film Producers (IFP).
The MPAA represents seven major Hollywood studios, including Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and MGM.
Judge Mukasey said his decision will be released at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. ET) Friday.
If he issues a temporary restraining order, it would effectively lift the ban for as long as 10 days, which would allow the independent producers to send out screeners to potential award voters.
Whether a temporary restraining order is issued or not, the next hurdle in the case would be winning a preliminary injunction, which would remain in place while the case is litigated.
