'SCREENER' BAN BLOCKED JUDGE SAYS MPAA MOVE HINDERS TRADE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

The independent film world scored a pivotal victory against the major movie studios Friday when a federal judge in New York blocked a controversial ban on sending advance DVD and VHS copies of films to award voters and critics.

U.S. District Judge Michael B. Mukasey issued a preliminary injunction against a ban on what are known as award season ``screeners'' imposed this fall by the Motion Picture Association of America, which said the ban is an effort to curb movie piracy.

The ban was challenged in court by The Independent Coalition, a group comprised of the Los Angeles and New York chapters of the Independent Film Project and more than a dozen independent production companies. They argued in court that the screener ban represented unlawful restraint of trade and the judge agreed.

``It's really a wonderful moment where people banded together and said, 'We are going to do everything we can do to fight this,''' said producer Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, whose Antidote Films was one of the plaintiffs. ``The tenacity and hardheadedness that allows us to make our films was applied here and we refused to succumb.''

An overjoyed Dawn Hudson, executive director of IFP/Los Angeles, said, ``Sometimes, the American way wins. I hope that this award season can now be preserved and that the MPAA will look for other measures to curtail piracy.''

The judge said the plaintiffs had provided enough evidence to show that the ban was in violation of federal antitrust laws designed to encourage competition. He was swayed by testimony that showed awards are critical to the success of smaller films, which can't begin to match the beefy advertising budgets of larger studios.

``Plaintiffs have shown they are at risk of loss of revenue as a result of the screener ban,'' Judge Mukasey said in court.

The MPAA has vowed to fight the injunction.

``We will appeal because the impact and growing threat of piracy is real and must be addressed wherever it appears,'' MPAA President Jack Valenti said in a statement.

The screeners of eligible films allow Oscar voters and other groups to see entries at home at their convenience. The practice has historically given exposure to smaller, independent films that have scored in major categories at the Academy Awards in recent years, including last year's ``The Pianist'' and ``Talk to Her.''

With the temporary restraining order in place, the prevailing thought is that studios affected by the ban will rush to get screeners into the hands of award show voters before any future legal action can prevent them from doing so.

``(The MPAA) ought to face reality and let it go on this year; they are stubborn,'' said Gregory L. Curtner of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, attorneys for the plaintiffs. ``They will argue for a temporary lifting of the injunction and we will be prepared to argue a stay.''

The litigation came after the MPAA banned its member studios, which include its specialty art house divisions, from sending out the ``for your consideration'' screeners. Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and MGM as well as DreamWorks Pictures and New Line Cinema all signed off on the ban.

The judge cited several points made in a lengthy deposition given on behalf of the plaintiffs by Miramax Films Co-Chairman Harvey Feinstein, the only head of a studio-owned specialty division to make himself available to the plaintiffs.

``One of the main reasons Miramax took advantage of the request for our thoughts is that at one time, Miramax (now owned by The Walt Disney Co.) was a small, independent company that used screeners to get attention for its movies,'' Miramax spokesman Paul Pflug said Friday. ``We are doing this for the next generation of Miramax's and independents.''

The ban had already been partially lifted by the MPAA for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote on the Oscars, but had remained in place for such groups as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and various critics organizations that also bestow awards each year.

``All studios are free to send out screeners for films they see fit,'' Curtner said. ``We look forward to seeing the results of fair competition. We stand ready to meet with the MPAA and discuss this ill-advised and poorly conceived screener ban behind all of us.''

It is still uncertain whether the Los Angeles Film Critics Association will hold its annual awards. The group, along with the Chicago Films Critics Association, had canceled their award programs because of the ban.

``A lot of members feel that the ban has not actually been lifted by the MPAA,'' said LAFCA President Jean Oppenheimer. ``I'm very happy and pleased for the groups that were involved but I don't know if our position will change.''

SAG President Melissa Gilbert, whose group hands out acting awards in a nationally televised ceremony prior to the Oscars, was pleased with the ruling while reiterating SAG's commitment to combating piracy.

Said Gilbert: ``This means that the SAG awards Nominating Committee will have the broadest possible opportunity to view and judge the work of our members.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com