LOS ANGELES – In the mother of all screw ups, Hollywood’s greatest fear became a reality today as film industry officials said a digital version of an Oscar “screener” was found on the Internet.
A copy of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s “Something’s Gotta Give” that was sent to an Oscar voter was found to be downloadable from the Internet to a home PC, a spokesman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said.

“Sony let us know late last week that one had appeared on the Internet,” Academy spokesman John Pavlik said.

The studios have all encrypted copies of their screener tapes with special codes to trace them to their recipients.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the digitized tape was linked to a Carmine Caridi, 69, a film and TV actor who appeared in “The Godfather: Part II,” but officials declined comment. Caridi could not be reached for comment.

Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer declined specific comments on how the copied screener was traced, saying only that: “We did everything we could do ensure the secure handling of our screeners.” He said the issue was now in the hands of the Academy.

The mailing of so-called “screeners” to Academy and other award voters has long been practiced in Hollywood during the movie awards season that begins in December and ends with the Oscars, which will take place on Feb. 29.

Hollywood marketers believe screeners can help films win or be nominated for awards, which in turn can boost a movie’s box office, video, DVD, and television revenues.

In late September, however, Hollywood’s major studios instituted a ban on mailing out screeners because in last year’s awards season several copies of Academy screeners turned up on the Internet available for downloading for free.

The digital copies gave an embarrassing black eye to the studios as they battled movie piracy on the Web. Studios believe such piracy could lead to falling revenue similar to that music companies have suffered from free downloading of digital songs.

The ban on screeners was overturned by a federal court this past fall, but not before it was loosened for Academy members who agreed they would not give the tapes away. If digital copies of their personal, software-encrypted tapes were found on the Net, they would face expulsion from the Academy.

In Hollywood, being expelled from the Academy is tantamount to being banished from a country, and industry insiders were surprised at Tuesday’s news. Some Academy members have taken to cataloging the screeners and making friends check them out like they might from the library.

Pavlik said the matter is still being investigated and no action would be taken until the probe was concluded.