MPAA 'screeners' ban may be lifted

It looks as if Hack Valenti's cherished No Screeners plan is about to bite the dust.

Among other things, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association says it'll cancel its annual awards if the ban isn't lifted in the near future.

BUT - there appear to be several large 'buts'.

For example, MPAA 'members' (owners) might face embarassing sanctions if 'their' screener ended up online. And who'd be in the 'trusted' list?

MPAA spokesman Rich Taylor yesterday said "discussions continue"between Hack and the heads of the association's member studios behind the ban, says says the LA Daily News here.

"The screeners would be available to Oscar voters under conditional circumstances in the form of coded VHS tapes or VHS-quality DVDs, several sources said," according to the report.

"Other details being worked out are who would produce the coded screeners in a timely fashion and what type of penalty members could face if their coded film is pirated."

The MPAA's partial lifting of the ban wouldn't, however, apply to groups such as critics and the directors, writers and actors guilds, according to industry sources, the story says.