Studio screener ban triggering race for theater space.

Like a hot new restaurant where the phone is ringing off the hook, everyone wants a 7:30 reservation at the Clarity Screening Room in Beverly Hills--except this year, there just aren't enough days in the week.

"Our business has increased about 25 percent," said Russ Turner, head projectionist and booking manager at the 114-seat Clarity, which handles private screenings during the pre-awards season rush. "I'm doing screenings at 5 p.m., 2 p.m. and even at 11 a.m."

The story is much the same at other private screening rooms, as well as at guild theaters and local multiplexes--all of which are seeing an increase in the showbiz crowd wanting to catch films being promoted as award prospects.

Thanks to the Motion Picture Association of America's decision to restrict the circulation of complimentary DVDs and videotapes, as well as a compressed awards season, there is near desperation on the part of publicists and marketing executives to get influential fannies into the seats.

The problem is there are not enough seats, good ones anyway, to go around.

"They've booked every screening room in town back-to-back," Michael Bums, co-chief executive of Lions Gate Entertainment, said of the largest film studios.

The dearth of screening opportunities was a factor in Lions Gate's decision to send out tapes and DVDs of its award hopefuls this year, despite having the same piracy concerns as its larger competitors.

"You weigh the risks and rewards," Burns said. "This was a way for us to even the playing field with all the majors. It's a way to get recognition and awards consideration, which translates into consideration at the box office."

The studio has its own distribution arm and is not affected by the MPAA directive.

Booming business

Citing overly aggressive--and expensive--campaigns it said were tarnishing the film industry's image, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opted to move next year's Academy Awards ceremony to Feb. 29 from late March. (The MPAA represents the seven largest studios: Walt Disney Co., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Studios.)

With only a two-month window in which to tout their films, studios began booking dates at screening venues earlier this year. And when the MPAA announced on Sept. 30 that it would ban "screeners" out of concern DVDs being circulated would find their way onto the Internet and other venues for piracy, the race was on to get films in front of audiences.

Modifying that decision to allow screeners to be sent to Academy members, who vote for the Oscars, has done little to slow down the rush for screening space. Plenty of potential awards voters--including thousands of guild members--will not be getting DVDs in the mail this holiday season.

At Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, which has three screening rooms, the largest 150-seat theater rents for between $1,100 and $1,200, according to Michael Donahue, director of post production, while the smaller theaters start at $350.

Despite the rush, Donahue said Raleigh doesn't boost its prices this time of year. "We do try to encourage clients to book more. We can say to Miramax, why don't you book one screening for 7 and another for 9:30 and save people having to make two trips," he said. "People love a double feature."

Theater bookings are not limited to private screening rooms. "There's no doubt that we've had a lot more rentals than in the past," said Bob Laemmle, owner of Laemmle Theatres. "DreamWorks rented the Music Hall (on Wilshire Boulevard) for four weeks to show 'House of Sand and Fog.' That's unprecedented for a film that's not even in release."

The twice-daily DreamWorks screenings were open to guild members, the media and other insiders (a guard at the theater entrance checked bags for cameras). Laemmle declined to say how much he's getting for the Music Hall, but the rent is sufficient to sacrifice box office revenues.

Besides Laemmle, other local theater chains have picked up extra business. Spokespersons for both Landmark Theatres, like Laemmle an art-house chain, and Pacific Theatres Corp., which owns the complex at the Grove and the ArcLight in Hollywood, report more rentals this year.

Business has also been brisker than normal at the Directors Guild of America, which has two theaters, as well as at the Writers Guild of America, which has one.

"Our booking schedule is up 20 to 25 percent above last year. We've been trying to increase our availability to meet the demand," said DGA spokesman Morgan Rumpf. "Studios represent the largest segment of our business, but we also have independents and there's a variety of people who use the theaters."

At the WGA, where renting the 540-seat theater to screen a film costs $2,500, Phil Haggood, director of operations, said the guild has at times booked more than one show a day, a departure from years past. "December is always crunch time. The difference is we started early this year," he said.

Popular crowd

Ironically, the studios are tirelessly courting one segment of the film industry that has expressed the most outrage over the MPAA screener policy: members of the Screen Actors, Writers and Directors guilds, all of which have their own annual awards presentations.

"Each of the film companies are sending a notice to our members with film times and locations," said Kathy Connell, producer of the SAG Awards, to be held Feb. 22. "People are scrambling because everything happened so late."

Another way guild members and other insiders see films is through free admission at local cineplexes. In the past, such screenings--in which the studios designate selected films and reimburse the exhibitor--were open to all guild members, but that has changed a bit.

Citing increasing costs, the studios and theaters last year started placing restrictions on certain guilds. For SAG, only the 2, I(X) members of the nominating committee get free passes. That leaves about 95,000 SAG members shut out.

"At Pacific Theatres and ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, we are constantly balancing being a commercial venue with supporting the industry during their awards selection process," said Pacific Theatres spokeswoman Jennifer Westfall. "The guilds selected for screening participation this year are those who have the greatest access to the voting process."

Connell is concerned that the SAG nominating committee will not be able to see all the movies that warrant consideration without the convenience of watching at home.

"I don't know I'm going to get these people to see all these films," she said. "You're talking about a movie at night for working people. There is no way to keep up."

Another organization with similar concerns is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, organizer of the Golden Globe Awards.

"There certainly seem to be a lot of screenings going on and there has been an increased level of notification of screeners," said Lawrie Masterson, a freelance journalist from Australia and vice president of the FPA, whose 90-odd members decide the Golden Globe winners. "All of our members are making the best possible effort to see everything they can."

Laemmle, who will be renting out screens at several of his theaters for screeners in the coming weeks, said he's glad to oblige.

"It's a good deal. You can take off a film that's maybe not doing so well and you get a guaranteed rental fee for the theater," he said. "We're happy to have the business."