From JoBlo

JACK VALENTI IS RUINING MOVIES!!! HELP US STOP HIM AND THE INSANITY THAT HE HAS JUMPSTARTED!!

I mentioned this tidbit a few days ago, hoping that the madness that possessed the 82-year old leader of the MPAA, Jack Valenti, would slowly leak away and be replaced by the practical and fair mindedness of studios around Hollywood, but as of this writing, the MPAA's decision to disallow all studios from sending out any movie screeners to Academy voting members still stands and is only making matters worse for movies all around. Actually, the ban on screeners isn't only against Academy voters but all film critics around the country who rely on screeners to see as many of the films released as possible, so that they can gauge them against all of the other major studio releases-- including the organization of which I am a party, O.F.C.S. (Online Film Critics Society).

Just today, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association CANCELLED its awards to protest the industry ban and voted not to hand out any awards this year, unless this insane policy was reverted asap. The OFCS also wrote up their own protest letter here and many actors have also joined the fight against the ban which many believe will lead to the end of independent filmmaking as we know it (more on those actors and their gripes here). They include actors Sean Penn, Jodie Foster, Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand, Don Cheadle, Willem Dafoe and many others, as well as renowned directors like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppolla, Rober Altman and others.

WHY SHOULD YOU GIVE A SH!T ABOUT THIS?

You should care about this policy because if independent films aren't given a fair shot to be seen by all members of the Academy and film critics around the country (most of them only receive small releases to start off with because studios don't want to invest much in films for which they can't gauge potential), they will ultimately STOP BEING PRODUCED by anyone, which would lead to a continuing reliance on scrap like TOMB RAIDER 2, AMERICAN PIE 8, DUMB AND DUMBEST and the like for years to come, with no MEMENTO, MONSTER'S BALL, RESERVOIR DOGS or films of the sort ever getting the chance to be made again, since they will never be recognized and therefore, not "viable" as future investments for anyone. You can read several other continuing articles on Jack Valenti, the ban and its rippling effects on the movie industry RIGHT HERE or make your voice heard below, and sign the petition that will do away with the MPAA's controlling policy once and for all.
SIGN THE PETITION HERE!!!