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Screener (promotional)

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A screener (SCR) is an advance screening of a film or television series sent to critics, awards voters, video stores (for their manager and employees), and other film industry professionals, including producers and distributors.[1] It is similar to giving out a free advance copy of books before it is printed for mass distribution. Director John Boorman is credited with creating the first Oscar screeners to promote his film The Emerald Forest in 1985.[2]

Overview

Screeners help critics and awards voters see smaller movies that do not have the marketing advantage or distribution of major studio releases. Positive mentions can result in awards consideration.[3] A screener often has no post-processing.[timeframe?] According to critic Alan Sepinwall, DVD screeners occasionally give picture problems.[4] Nowadays, physical DVD copies still appear to be issued, but screeners are also distributed digitally to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the media/publicity sites of individual television networks for television shows.[5] When screeners leak online, they are often tagged "DVDSCR",[5] and often have an on-screen graphic watermark and could come with embedded tracking technology.[6] Another anti-piracy measure includes the encryption of DVD discs so that they will only play in machines given exclusively to voters.[7][8] Studios also used self-destructing discs made by Flexplay Technologies. After the DVDs are removed from their air-tight packaging they immediately begin to oxidize and become unreadable 48 hours later.[8] In 2003, Cesar award voters received a Flexplay DVD screener of Gus Van Sant's Palme d'Or winner Elephant, making it the first use of the limited-play technology for award screeners.[9] Peter Bart, Oscar voter for many years, finds the threats and admonitions regarding screeners tiresome. Many TV sets do not recognize the "enter" instruction on the videos to certify your "acceptance" of the threats, making the movie unwatchable.[10]

History

According to the Los Angeles Times, Oscar screeners originated with the efforts of director John Boorman to promote his film The Emerald Forest, a 1985 Powers Boothe vehicle about an American child kidnapped by a tribe in the Amazon Rainforest. The film had been lauded by critics, but due to the business troubles of its distributor, Embassy Pictures, received no advertising campaign. Boorman paid for VHS copies of the film to be made available to Academy members for no charge at certain Los Angeles video rental stores. Despite the novelty of his campaign, however, Emerald Forest received no Oscar nominations.[2]

In 2003, the MPAA announced that they would be ceasing distribution of screeners to Academy members, citing fears of copyright infringement.[11] A group of independent film makers sued and won a decision against the MPAA. The MPAA later reinstated the screeners with the implementation of a new policy requiring recipients to sign a binding contract that they would not share the screeners with others.

In January 2004, academy member Carmine Caridi was announced as a person of interest in an ongoing FBI investigation into video piracy. He was subsequently expelled from the academy, after he was found to have sent as many as 60 screeners a year for at least three years to a contact called Russell Sprague in Illinois. Caridi was later ordered to pay Warner Bros. for copyright infringement of two of their films, Mystic River and The Last Samurai, a total of $300,000 ($150,000 per title).[12][13]

In 2014 a copy of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty appeared on file sharing networks watermarked with "Ellen DeGeneres 11/26/13".[14][15] 20th Century Fox created the copy for The Ellen DeGeneres Show before actor and director Ben Stiller appeared on her show. DeGeneres hosted the 86th annual Academy Awards but it was definitely not an Oscar screener since the studio forensically watermarks those copies differently. It is unusual for a pirate copy to identify a specific individual. Andy Baio, former CTO of Kickstarter, reported the appearance of the pirated copy on his blog Waxy.[16] Andy started tracking the illicit distribution of Oscar screeners in 2004 and publishes his findings on his blog, which turned into an annual ritual whereby he updates his spreadsheet.[17][18]

In March 2016, TorrentFreak reported that original screener DVDs appear in dozens of eBay listings.[19] According to eBay seller NoHo Trader, the sale of Emmy screener DVDs is lawful, although studios occasionally still take down Emmy DVD auctions and other lawful promotional materials.[20] The Television Academy indicates the limited license governing the use of these screeners prohibits further distribution.[6]

In 2020, the Emmys made the switch from sending out DVD screeners to online streaming, motivated to eliminate waste and to save tens of millions of dollars for the television industry.[21] But several major outlets expressed their frustration to the new fees for their online Emmy screeners. They're not saving money like they thought they would.[22] According to some industry insiders, it is also easier to prevent online screeners from leaking into the hands of pirates. The piracy group EVO writes this is not necessarily the case and the opposite may be true in some cases.[23][24] Anthony Anderson, director of film security for Universal Pictures, points out that just as many problems exist with digital screeners that could make them less secure: login credentials can be shared, each device presents unique security challenges and an online offering can be attacked from anywhere.[25]

In 2019, the academy introduced a private video on demand platform known as the "Academy Screening Room", accessible online and via an Apple TV app, which allows distributors to host screeners online for a fee.[26][27] In April 2020, citing sustainability concerns, the academy announced that physical screeners and other items mailed to voters will be discontinued entirely by the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, upon which films will be made available to voters solely through the Academy Screening Room app.[28] The ban on DVD and Blu-Ray screeners will mark the end of a long standing tradition.[24] The term WEBSCR (web screener) will be seen more from now on in pirated release titles.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Screener definition at Afterdawn.
  2. ^ a b Miller, Daniel (March 1, 2018). "The Oscar screener was invented by accident, and other secrets of an awards season staple". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018. "The Emerald Forest" didn't get any Oscar nominations — but Boorman's gambit made an impact: He effectively invented the movie screener, now an integral part of Hollywood's awards season apparatus.
  3. ^ Seiler, Andy (October 14, 2003). "Screener DVD ban could harm art-house films". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Adalian, Josef (April 4, 2008). "Networks to shift screeners online". Variety.
  5. ^ a b enigmax (January 7, 2013). "Leaked Oscar Screeners are BitTorrent Smash Hits". TorrentFreak.
  6. ^ a b "Reminder: FYC online screeners, DVDs, and Privacy". emmys.com. April 14, 2015. The screener may have embedded technology enabling tracking of illegal activity.
  7. ^ Jardin, Xeni (January 13, 2006). "DVD pirates successfully plunder Academy Award screeners". Slate.
  8. ^ a b Keegan, Terence (January 4, 2005). "Screeners flow with watermarks". Variety.
  9. ^ Sweeting, Paul (December 22, 2003). "Gaul screeners go poof". Variety.
  10. ^ Bart, Peter (December 4, 2011). "What's with all the meaner screeners?". Variety.
  11. ^ Seiler, Andy (October 14, 2003). "What's the big Oscar DVD 'screener' flap?". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016.
  12. ^ "Carmine Caridi, Motion Picture Academy Member Who Handed Over His Awards Screeners for Illegal Duplication, Ordered to Pay $300,000 to Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc". November 23, 2004. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019.
  13. ^ Kilday, Gregg; Bond, Paul (January 23, 2004). "FBI Arrests Man in Oscar Screener Case". Backstage.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022.
  14. ^ Patten, Dominic (January 10, 2014). "'Ellen DeGeneres Show' Says "Not Sure" They Are Source Of "Walter Mitty" Leak".
  15. ^ Baio, Andy (January 9, 2014). "Ellen DeGeneres' "Walter Mitty" Screener Leaks Online". Waxy.
  16. ^ Spangler, Todd (January 10, 2014). "Pirated copy of "Walter Mitty" surfaces online with "Ellen DeGeneres" watermark". Variety.
  17. ^ Baio, Andy (March 27, 2022). "Pirating the Oscars 2022: The Rise and Fall of the Screener Over 20 Years". Waxy.
  18. ^ Van der Sar, Ernesto (January 16, 2015). "95% Of Oscar Contenders Leaked on Pirate Sites Already". TorrentFreak.
  19. ^ andy (March 26, 2016). "Original DVD Screeners Widely Available on eBay". TorrentFreak.
  20. ^ NoHo Trader (May 13, 2014). "SHORT HISTORY OF EMMY SCREENER DVDs ON EBAY". eBay. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017.
  21. ^ Yeager, Jim (January 18, 2019). "The Television Academy First to Eliminate For Your Consideration DVD Screeners for the 2020 Emmy Awards" (PDF) (Press release). NoHo Arts District, California: breakwhitelight for the Television Academy.
  22. ^ Schneider, Michael (March 11, 2020). "TV Academy's Emmy Screener Ban Is Here to Help the Planet, but Not Necessarily the Wallet". Variety.
  23. ^ Van der Sar, Ernesto (January 27, 2019). "Replacing DVDs With Online Screeners Won't Stop Pirates". TorrentFreak.
  24. ^ a b Van der Sar, Ernesto (May 1, 2020). "Pirated 'DVD Screeners' Will be History After Next Year's Oscars". TorrentFreak.
  25. ^ Tribbey, Chris (December 23, 2015). "'Hateful Eight' Leak: Experts Weigh in On Digital vs. Physical Screeners". Variety.
  26. ^ Thompson, Anne (October 8, 2019). "The Academy Will Allow Oscar Voters to Stream Almost All Awards Screeners". IndieWire. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  27. ^ Thompson, Anne (October 31, 2019). "Academy Opens Online 'Screening Room' for Oscar Contenders". IndieWire. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  28. ^ Hammond, Pete (April 28, 2020). "Oscars Keeping Show Date But Make Big News As Academy Lightens Eligibility Rules, Combines Sound Categories, Ends DVD Screeners and More". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  29. ^ Maxwell, Andy (January 4, 2021). "Pirated Screeners of Promising Young Woman, Nomadland & Minari Leak Online". TorrentFreak.
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