Just in case you had’nt heard, on the eve of April Fools Day a workprint of X-Men Origins: Wolverine found its way to the internet and hundreds of thousands of downloads occurred before 20th Century Fox could stop it. Though at first one might think “So what?” – there’s more at stake than just having a flick run free on the internet prior to its official release date.
When I first saw this, I held back. It was April Fool’s day. But as the hours passed, so did the proof that this was indeed real.
I shook my head in disbelief.
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How Can A Movie Get Leaked?
Does that really matter? There are so many different people that handle a DVD of a movie in post-production before it hits the theaters, it’s amazing we don’t see this more often.
With the number of folk who have access to a post-production version of a movie, when do the necessary additional security measures kick in that studios may have to take? Will those measures cost us, the fan, more in the end?
Sure we might grumble at the studios, but who is really to blame?
Have You Thought About the Little Guy?
I suppose that for some, the idea of seeing a movie before it’s actually released to the public is some sort of thrill (or something). While these folks gloat about having seen a film early (and illegally), I’m sure they don’t think about the impact their cumulative actions have on others.
The “others” are those people who put in 10 to 14 hour days over the course of a couple of years creating a movie. The “others” are also the second tier people who depend on a film to be released for their livelihoods… Movie theater owners/employees, for example.
For all these people, an advance pirate copy that makes it online dilutes the hard work they’ve put into something, and takes away from the “event” status of a big blockbuster release date. A release date that has had many countless hours of effort put towards deciding how to best present the culmination of all that hard work.
As this travesty went viral, Twitter.com was aflame with people stating that the Wolverine movie had found its way to the internet.
Some cheered at the travesty thrust upon Fox. I get where you’re coming from. Fox sure doesn’t have the best track record in how they’ve handled some franchises or other matters. But if you think this through, it’s just not Fox that gets hurt. It’s shameful to ponder the idea that we might really wish harm on a person’s livelihood.
So the buzz lit up big time.
Shortly thereafter folks were out there boasting about having grabbed some popcorn and sitting down to watch their newly stolen digital media.
Yes… I Said Stolen
If you go to the trouble of hunting down what you know is an illegal copy of the film, you knowingly stole it. And don’t tell me you didn’t know. To add insult to thievery, some of you were stupid enough to brag about it on various social networking sites. Good for you! Now at least if Fox and the FBI decide to pursue this legal issue to that level, you’ve made it very easy for them to find you. Even if you didn’t brag about it, you left a digital trail to the torrent files and subsequent activity is clear as day to the packet sniffers.
As it stands, the copy of the film that made its way online did not have the majority of its visual effects complete, had missing scenes and a temporary audio/music track. So I’m sure that made for an AWESOME viewing experience.
Some Actually Posted Reviews
To further implicate yourselves, you then thought you would be super cool and leave your reviews and opinions on what you saw on various bulletin boards and websites. Most website admins removed your misbegotten opinions, choosing instead to take the high road regarding this scenario. Good for them.
Fox stated in a press release on April 1st that the FBI and the MPAA are actively investigating this crime and that:
“The source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Oh yes. This little stunt can lead to some jail time. I have a feeling someone may find themselves with some new best friends fairly soon.
When All Is Said And Done
It seems that it may be pretty easy to track down who did this. Maybe instead of firing him or her, the studio should garnish their wages for all eternity for profits lost.
If you think it really doesn’t hurt studios, think of this: Eli Roth didn’t release Hostel: Part II in Mexico because it was already leaked there and you could buy it for twenty-five cents. What was the point of opening there then?
You think that if you alone “stole” a movie, who would it hurt? It adds up. One of my favorite examples of adding up is an article I wrote about saving electricity. If every light switch wielding person (estimated 211 million – it’s just a ball park for this example) in the U.S. left a light bulb burning in an empty room for only 5 minutes, as a collective, that adds up to around 2,000 years of wasted energy. It all adds up and we can make a difference.
In closing, Fox said this:
“We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning piracy and this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors and, above all, hurts fans of the film”
We at Screen Rant will never support this kind of behavior and we will not tolerate anyone posting their own review or experience in the comments.
‘Nuff said?
Source: BBC News
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322 Comments
The Movie Industry and the MPAA will continue to bemoan their poor fates and how much money all these poor A+ actors are losing, and the people who are involved in making the actual movies (Don’t worry about them, they’ve got Unions) at the same time continuing to bury their heads in the sand and deny the internet exists for anything but piracy. Did online music destroy the poor bedraggled music industry? Hardly. Millions upon Millions of people buy music legally from Itunes and other services. People don’t want to spend money on gas, ever-increasing ticket prices for ever-worsening movies, exorbitant rates such as 5 dollars for a 50 cent box of candy, and so on, in a crowded theatre, full of screaming babies, and ruckus teenagers snickering every other minute while you try to watch a film. Get with it, movie industry! Itunes, Rhapsody, Hulu, etc., etc. They’ve got the right idea. They’re making money! Why aren’t you? Someone get some baby wipes. I smell some rear-ends that need to be cleaned and some tears that need to by dried up.
Oh yes, the internet only exists for the sake of piracy… right…
We all know the internet is for pron…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRgNOyCnbqg
I’m having a hard time deciding whether art is dead, or thriving more than ever in the age of “computers = everyone can do anything”. This also links to the age old conundrum if art should even have a price. I’ve always felt wrong about charging someone for my irresistable creative expression, but on the other hand if I could make a living off of my art, then I can focus and hone it into something even greater than my expectations. Since the dawning of television, the problem has come down to one thing: fame. Since people no longer need to leave their homes for entertainment you have to be famous enough for them to care. Which means you have to be famous enough for other people to invest their money in you. Internet downloading has done wonders for the struggling unknowns, and therefore art in the common man is finally taking steps forward. However, some people make their living by being a name and a face, and that has to be respected as well. I didn’t go through three grueling years of theatre school to be a millionaire, but I would like my art to be seen by the terms I intended, and to either be respected or ignored. Nobody has the right to say “I took it cause it costs too much”. If you want a movie that was intended to be watched through the internet, make one. I am making it my goal in life to not raise my kid as one of these internet brats… I don’t care if he shoplifts or holds up a liquor store… but man, people put their souls into these performances… I guess people who don’t act or make films don’t really understand.
….sorry, just a rant I had to put somewhere other than my head.
We published some thoughts on preventing this from happening in the future. Obviously Hollywood can’t sustain this type of leak.
Deterrence is fine, but Hollywood, the recording industry, and everybody else have to start approaching this from a new angle, because deterrence alone is ineffective.
http://praetorianprefect.com/archives/2009/05/wolverines-nemesis-data-leakage/
Hey Dan,
Deterrence is moot these days, since laws are inadequately backed to enforce.
And the proper measures, are so cost prohibitive to the end movie viewer that they are probably not worth it because the cost to do so many layers of transfer monitoring would be passed to us.
As we’ve seen from comments above, to most, this “event” is an acceptable practice.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to head down to my local grocery store and snag a bottle of ketchup to “try” before I buy one.
I agree re: deterrence, have it there, will discourage some folks, but it won’t do much.
And we agree that a significant percentage of society views this as not a big deal. Not surprising, most folks don’t have a dog in this fight, and its hard to feel bad for the symbols of Hollywood (overpaid performers). But the studio does care, and a lot of other people are affected, people who’s yearly income isn’t measured in millions.
But we’ll have to agree to disagree on controls. Right now they are trying inadequate things, references to safes and sign out sheets, saber rattling. It won’t cost a dollar to go through the communications methods at these companies and determine whether any monitoring safeguards are in place for each method. The safeguards themselves (e-mail appliance, web filter, firewall, end point DLP) could cost less then $100,000. Add a competent security guy to work for the studio and check out all the vendors, do the monitoring another $100,000.
The movie has been downloaded at least 1mm times so far, so at $7 a ticket that’s $7mm in lost revenue (low side estimate doesn’t include all downloads, DVD dist., etc.).
A couple hundred grand spread out over all those ticket prices, and cost cost passed on to each movie goer isn’t even a penny.
Thanks for the response, made me think.
Yep.. it seems pretty simple indeed. Just like following the speed limit!
Yet somehow, it never ends up that simple. Having been a “packet sniffer,” I get what you’re saying. Yet… someone will screw it up and complicate the system.
Bruce
After watching the movie at the cinema, I wish i would have illegally downloaded it.
First of all, someone needs to show some concrete proof that downloading movies, results in reduced ticket sales.
Personally i don’t go to the theaters very often because of the price. I would rather pay 20 dollar a month to have netflix, and have movies delivered to my house.
When i want to watch my favorite TV program, i watch it online. Illegal download? No i want it on nbc.com or abc.com with 5 minutes worth of commercials instead of 20 minutes worth if i watched in on TV.
I download music, because i cant afford to buy the albums of the 600 artists i am now a fan of. I buy CD’s and go to concerts because i was able to learn about new music instead of listening the commercials and lack of quality on the radio. Because of my “sinning” i introduce music to many of my friends, who would have never known about them through commercial means.
Lets face it.. we get crappy products because the industry, both movie and music, fills their products with crap and advertisements. I cant even watch a DVD or go to the theater without watching TV advertisements for television programs. I cant even skip to the main menu of a DVD, because i have to watch previews to other movies.
I also watch movies and TV shoes on Hulu. I tell my friends about my favorite shows, i put articles and links on my website.
For the same reason nobody wants to pay a for a newspaper, i don’t want to pay for an over priced movie or album. I want quality.. i reward quality.
So the little guys are being hurt, not by evil pirates, but by the commercialized industry that recycles the same old garbage year after year. The internet is what is keeping the industry alive. Money is being made left and right, but they simply just take a bigger slice of the pie.
So they can complain about illegal downloads all they want. Without the internet, the good and the bad that comes with it, nobody would watch movies or listen to music. The times are changing people, time for everyone to face reality and adapt.
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