Rule Three
The Awards Year and Deadlines

1. The required Los Angeles County qualifying run (described in Rule Two Paragraph 2) must open between January 1, 2002 and midnight of December 31, 2002.

2. A picture theatrically exhibited inside the U.S. prior to the Los Angeles qualifying run shall be eligible for submission provided the prior exhibition takes place in a commercial motion picture theater after January 1, 2001, and that no other form of public exhibition occurs through the completion of its Los Angeles run (previews and festivals excluded).

3. A picture first theatrically exhibited outside the U.S. prior to the Los Angeles qualifying run shall be eligible for submission provided the prior exhibition takes place in a commercial motion picture theater after January 1, 2001, with the following further conditions:

a) the film may not be exhibited publicly in any other medium for a six-month period following the commencement of its initial theatrical engagement, and

b) after the six-month period, the film may play in non-theatrical forms provided they are outside the U.S. (No film which is shown inside the U.S. in any non- theatrical form prior to its qualifying Los Angeles run shall be eligible for Academy Awards.)

4. Official Screen Credits forms may be returned to the Academy prior to the qualifying Los Angeles release, but not later than sixty days after such opening. However, all Official Screen Credits forms must be returned to the Academy by Monday, December 2, 2002.

5. An achievement submitted for Academy Award consideration may not be withdrawn after January 31, 2003.

6. Exceptions to the above eligibility periods and submission deadlines appear in the Special Rules for the Documentary Awards (see Rule Twelve), the Foreign Language Film Award (see Rule Fourteen), and the Short Films Awards (see Rule Nineteen).