Attention, academy voters: Be on your guard

Between Tuesday, when final Oscar ballots are mailed, and 5 p.m. March 18, when the voting officially ends, the amped-up push to influence motion picture academy voters will build to its annual peak. So now might be a good time for a review of the rules governing the campaign.

Posted in September on the academy Web site (www.oscars.org), the guidelines have a certain seen-it-all tone. “It should not be assumed that any tactics not addressed by these guidelines are acceptable,” says the introduction to the 14-point list of do’s and don’ts that apply to the tidal wave of screenings and mailings directed at academy members -- though not, of course, at the no-superlatives-barred world of the films’ ad campaigns.

“Though the crude solicitations that occasionally surfaced in earlier years seem to be a thing of the past,” the academy notes elsewhere on its site, “we would ask each individual academy member to be on guard against inappropriate attempts to influence your vote....”

A selection from the guidelines:

The no-free-food clause: “The academy encourages the screening of eligible films in a theatrical setting for its members. However, such screenings should not be accompanied by receptions, buffets or other refreshments, nor should such screenings feature the live participation of the film’s artists before or after the screening.”

The no-phone-call-tricks clause: “Any organized effort to contact academy members by telephone on behalf of a film or achievement is expressly forbidden, even if such contact is in the guise of checking to make sure a videotape was received.”

The just-the-facts clause: “E-mail that is sent to academy members

The penalty for violating the rules, in all but the most serious cases, is the Oscar night equivalent of banishment to the gulag and “will consist of a significant subtraction from a company’s standard allotment of tickets to the awards presentation.”