The battle lines are being drawn and many feel that the move to ban “Screeners” will hurt independent films and give an unfair advantage to big studio movies. Actors, writers and directors have already lined up on one side of the battleground calling for the ban to be lifted and now the critics have joined the war.  

The ban was put into place to help cut down on piracy. 

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association is considered one of the more influential groups in the U.S. film industry. Their annual awards ceremony takes place each January but it looks as if that will not be the case this year unless the studio-heads (MPAA) change their stance on sending out “screeners”. 

As we reported last week, there is talk of a compromise MPAA president Jack Valenti held  a teleconference last Thursday(Oct 16) with the heads of the major studios to discuss the issue and there are indications that they are willing to compromise. 

However, just what that compromise would entail is not yet known, if it has been worked out at all. One idea being tossed around is that screener videos for films that received a limited release would be issued but members would have to see larger released feature  films in theatres.