BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has changed a rule that disqualified some televised documentaries from Oscar consideration.
The change -- which will apply to documentaries released this year -- provides an exemption from the previous TV blackout rule for documentaries that have been given a "true theatrical rollout."
Freida Lee Mock, the chairwoman of the executive committee of the academy's documentary branch, said the TV blackout rule -- which bars documentaries from Oscar contention if they are televised within nine months of their theatrical release -- was implemented in 2003 to encourage theatrical runs for documentaries. Mock said the rule has had a positive impact on exhibition of documentaries.
"Since 2003 there have been a growing number of documentary theatrical releases," she said, "and that growth exploded this summer."
Michael Moore took his film "Fahrenheit 9/11" out of contention for a documentary Oscar last year because he wanted to be able to have it shown on TV prior to the Nov. 2 election -- inside the nine-month window required by the TV blackout rule.
