December 19, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - 310-247-3000

lunger@oscars.org

Beverly Hills, CA - The Academy Players Directory, the casting bible of the industry since its inception in 1937, will move its offices next month from the headquarters building of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills to 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Operation of the Players Directory will commence in Hollywood beginning in mid-January.

In addition to the physical move, there recently have been enhancements to the online version of the Players Directory. Actors who list themselves in the Directory now have the ability to update virtually all of their contact, credit, representation and union affiliation information on a daily basis.

"Actors who list themselves in the Academy Players Directory are serious about their craft," said Editor Keith Gonzales. "What we have done is make sure that they can take full advantage of the immediacy of the Internet to keep their information as current as possible. And because of that, more and more casting professionals are turning to the PD Online."

As a result of the increasing tendency of both performers and casting people to use the Internet-based version, the printed version of the Directory will now be published only twice each year instead of three times.

The 118,000 square-foot building at 1313 North Vine Street was once the home of the Don Lee-Mutual Broadcasting television studios. Renovation work began shortly after the Academy purchased the building in May of this year. The Players Directory will occupy approximately 5,000 square feet of updated office space on the ground floor. In addition to the Players Directory, the facility will house the Academy Film Archive.

"Our new space on Vine Street will allow the Players Directory to even better serve the acting and casting community," Gonzales said. "It's more centrally located, and with on-site parking and ground-level offices, it will be much easier for actors and their agents to come in to conduct any necessary business. Plus, the space allows us to have several work stations for actors who don't have Internet access at home to come in and update their listings."

Actors pay a $75 annual fee to list themselves in the Players Directory. That fee includes them in the books, the Players Directory Online and The Link, the online casting system created in March 1997, which combines the Players Directory pool of tens of thousands of actors with the player requirements listed by Breakdown Services.

"I think it's important for actors and casting directors to take note of this new growth of the Directory," Gonzales added. "In the past several years, a number of different Internet-based directories and casting systems came into being and captured a certain amount of attention. Virtually none of them exist today, and certainly none of them are expanding their services in the ways we have. The Academy Players Directory has always been and will continue to be operated as a service to the industry, not a bottom-line driven enterprise."