Latest Academy News: Producer Named, and More
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.
So that is the latest from the Academy ... the arrival of September means it will soon be time for my two part series profiling and looking ahead to the fall and winter films which could represent the majority of contenders for the next Academy Awards. That will be coming soon ... after this summer particularly, I'm ready for some truly great films.
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