MPAA SCREENER VOTE THIS WEEK.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

The Motion Picture Association of America is expected to decide by the end of the week if other groups besides Oscar voters will be allowed to receive ``for your consideration'' award screeners this year.

The MPAA declined to comment Wednesday on the screener ban, which remains in place for such groups as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and critics organizations.

But representatives from various groups, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, met with MPAA President Jack Valenti last week to state their case for rescinding the ban. Valenti, who has made no promises, called them this week to let them know that he hopes to have a definitive answer by Friday.

``All I can say is I'm encouraged the MPAA and the studios are still weighing the matter,'' said LAFCA President Jean Oppenheimer. ``I really thought they'd come back with a flat no.''

Oppenheimer said she and a delegation that included National Society of Film Critics Chairman Peter Rainer had a ``cordial'' meeting with Valenti.

LAFCA had announced last month that it was canceling its annual awards, officials stating that it would be impossible for their members to see all of the eligible films in time for award deadlines. The Chicago Film Critics Association has since followed suit.

``If they rescind the ban, I see no reason why we would not rescind our cancellation,'' Oppenheimer said. ``If they don't, my guess is we will stick with not having awards this year. If they come up with something in between, I really don't know.''

Dawn Hudson, executive director of Independent Feature Project/Los Angeles, was among those from the independent film community - including ``Gods and Monsters'' director Bill Condon and ``Cold Mountain'' producer Ron Yerxa - who met with Valenti last week.

``We explained how each award or each critics group is an important part of the whole awareness campaign for an independent film, and you take any one of these parts away, you are really hurting the smaller films,'' Hudson said.

The screeners allow voters to see entries at home at their convenience. They have historically given exposure to smaller, independent films that have scored in major categories at the Oscars, Golden Globes and various critics awards in recent years.

In an effort to thwart piracy, the MPAA made the controversial decision to ban its member studios, which include specialty art-house divisions, from sending out the DVD and VHS screeners.

MPAA member companies - 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 - had signed off on the ban. The major studios have been largely unsuccessful in major categories at the Oscars in recent years.

The ban was partially lifted last month for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences under a series of security measures. But other groups remained out in the cold.

``We explained that the appeal of the ban on Academy screeners is not nearly enough,'' Hudson said. ``It's not the Academy Awards season; it's awards season. Those screeners are the most cost-effective way of marketing for those groups that can't afford extra screenings or full-page ads. They can afford to send out a (screener), and that's how you are leveling the playing field with the studios.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com