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I posted this in a thread in General Discussion but thought it might fit here as well!
OK guys- this could be our angle!!!
The 1977 version of ‘Star Wars’ is a registered film of the LOC’s National Film Registry http://www.loc.gov/film/titles.html
Congress has voted and the President recently signed into law a bill S.167 which covers, among other interesting things, the public’s right to film preservation via the NFR (please note my bold text):
Title III: National Film Preservation - Subtitle A: Reauthorization of the National Film Preservation Board - National Film Preservation Act of 2005 - (Sec. 302) Amends the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 to expand the use of the National Film Registry seal, which indicates that a film has been included in the Registry and is the Registry version of the film, for use on other approved copies of the Registry version of the film. Allows only the copyright owner or an authorized licensee of the copyright owner to place the seal on any film or other approved copy of the Registry version of a film selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry in the case of mass distributed, broadcast, or published works.
Directs the Librarian of Congress, in consultation with the National Film Registry Board, to:
(1) carry out activities to make films included in the National Film Registry more broadly accessible for research and educational purposes and to generate public awareness and support of the Registry and the comprehensive national film preservation program;
(2) review the comprehensive national film preservation plan, and amend it to ensure that it addresses technological advances in preserving, storing, and accessing film collections in multiple formats; and
(3) whenever possible, undertake expanded initiatives to ensure the preservation of the moving image heritage of the United States by supporting the work of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center of the Library of Congress at Culpeper Virginia, and other appropriate nonprofit archival and preservation organizations.
Increases the number of members on the National Film Preservation Board, the maximum number of members-at-large that the Librarian may appoint, and the number of members required for a quorum.
Directs the Librarian to utilize the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center to ensure that preserved films included in the Registry are stored in a proper manner, and disseminated to researchers, scholars, and the public as may be appropriate in accordance with U.S. copyright law and the terms of any agreements between the Librarian and persons who hold copyrights to such audiovisual works.
Extends the prohibition on the unapproved use of the National Film Registry seal to any format of such a film.
Reauthorizes provisions regarding film preservation.
^ So as I read it, should this go through, that if we can prove the obvious- that GL considers that the 1977 version “doesn’t exist”- than it is up to the public film preservationists to save ‘Star Wars’ from being erased from our history.
Thoughts? Read more details yourselves at the links above. I really think this would be somewhat do-able! Who’s up for it???
