HOLLYWOOD, July 5 (UPI) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences warned its voting members that anyone who undermines the "letter or spirit" of Oscar rules could get the boot.
The academy now forbids "any form of advertising that includes quotes or comments by academy members," the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
Every year, millions of dollars are spent on advertising whose goal is to reach academy voters. During the last movie season, the practice turned up the controversy when Miramax drafted an ad for Gangs of New York under the name of Robert Wise, former academy president. The Times later revealed that a Miramax publicist, not Wise, wrote the ad.
"I think everybody agrees, including the studio heads themselves," President Frank Pierson said. "The money being spent this year to advertise directly to academy voters was just getting out of hand and creating an impression that academy members can be bought or influenced."
