..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

July 2 , 2003

Academy Distributes Studio Promotion Rules for 76th Academy Awards (R)

Beverly Hills, CA - The Academy issued Oscar(R) season marketing rules today and the organization's tougher attitude toward the process is reflected even in the name of the document.

They aren't "guidelines" anymore, now they're "regulations."

And new paragraphs in the preamble to the regulations makes it clear that the Academy isn't fooling around.

"Any Academy member," paragraph two says, "who has authorized, approved or executed a campaign activity that is determined by the Board of Governors to have undermined the letter or spirit of these regulations will be subject to suspension of membership or expulsion from the Academy."

Paragraph three makes it clear that "more serious violations could result in a film losing its eligibility for Awards consideration."

"There will now be personal consequences to improper campaigning," Academy President Frank Pierson said.

The subtraction of tickets as a penalty remains an option, but it will no longer be the only one applied.

"Penalties will be assessed at the discretion of the Board of Governors and in response to the seriousness of the violation," the regulations now state.

"We don't know yet what the mechanics of censure will be," Pierson said, "but, believe me, they'll be in place."

The regulations themselves have not changed dramatically.

"For the most part, we've tightened up some wording and clarified some definitions," said Academy Executive Administrator Ric Robertson, the executive charged with enforcing the regulations, "although we have added a prohibition regarding quote ads."

That prohibition states that "any form of advertising that includes quotes or comments by Academy members is prohibited."

Other changes include:

Empty tape or DVD boxes may no longer be sent to members as "placeholders" or reminders that the actual tape or DVD will be sent at some future date.

The prohibition against third-party distribution of prohibited items, usually packaged as part of a trade-paper ad, now defines a "subscriber" as a member who "has taken the intentional step of requesting that a publication be sent to him on a regular basis." An Academy member who has not made such a request will not be considered a subscriber by the Academy, and a company that uses a publication to send proscribed promotional materials to such a member "will be in violation of the guideline."

The regulations no longer specify a date before which videocassettes or DVD copies may not be sent to Academy members. Last year, that date was November 1.

The guidelines were formulated by the Academy's Public Relations Branch Executive Committee, chaired by Past Academy President Richard Kahn, and approved by the organization's Board of Governors.