Harvey Weinstein waded into Hollywood's 'screener' ban controversy yesterday, calling on studios to send out preview tapes to all awards bodies.

The Miramax co-chairman joined the fray one week after the major studios and representative body The Motion Picture of America (MPAA) said they would after all be sending out tapes - but only to the 6,000 or so Academy members who vote on the Oscars.

The move partially overruled last month's ban urging studios not to send out any tapes because they were a perceived piracy risk.

Weinstein, however, speaking on behalf of a group of non MPAA-affiliated studios, said all awards groups voters needed to have access to tapes if their awards shows were to proceed. The Los Angeles Film critics Association has already said it will cancel this year's awards unless it receives tapes.

"We are deeply concerned that SAG, BAFTA, the critics across the country and the Hollywood Foreign Press are still cut out of the process," Weinstein told trade paper Daily Variety.

The burly mogul also advised studios to ensure tapes were equipped with watermarking and anti-piracy measures to prevent future bans from occurring.

Meanwhile many in the industry fear that any signs of piracy from this year's batch of tapes will result in a complete ban next year.