Are you downloading films from the internet?
Never. I also don't download music and try my hardest not to cop images.
I steal it all.
Sorry, I had an itch to see Bringing Down the House, but wasn't gonna pay $9 for that shit. Screw the music industry too, then again, I download mostly live music. I don't think that should be illegal anyways.
But honestly, if I really support a person I will make investments to show that support.
I don't have to steal... I have people who work at video stores that get me 30% off... :).
No, I don't, but the new commercials they air in the theaters make me want to.
Explain to me how Mr. Bob Setbuilder looses money from people downloading movies. Movies are bankrolled before production begins. Unless Mr. Bob has a percentage of the box office take, how is it going to hurt him? I get the theory that downloading movies may take away money from the studios and therefore cut the quantity of movies produced and therefore hurt Mr. Bob Setbuilder, but I don't buy into it. I don't think downloading movies will EVER be big enough to put a dent into the industry. And if, by some long shot, it does, it will hurt the bad movies the industry puts out.
If a movie is good, really good, you're going to be compelled to go see it in the theater because of the experience. No computer is ever going to compete with the screen, sound, and feeling of seeing a good movie in a theater, therefore I don't think Mr. Bob Setbuilder will be loosing one red cent from his Skoal lined pockets.
the first time I saw that, I almost died laughing. It's so cheesy and dumb.
I really hate it. It sooo takes the audience for granted. The only thing he has to worry about is losing work to Canadian Bob Setbuilders.
I don't pirate anything (ummm...except for a few programs now and then), but those ads sure make me want to.
Raikus, Link, and Ghostboy -- that is possibly my most enjoyed three posts in a row, in a long time.
Agreed totally.
I'd be willing to bet that dolt gets his Union wage no matter how many movies are downloaded. Not that I agree with downloading, I just think there's gotta be a better way to combat it than this retarded commercial.
I'll bet he got some comfy stipend for making the commercial, too.
That guy is a total redneck... he beard is a different color than the rest of his hair, for poop's sake! He does kinda remind me of Dustin Hoffman a little bit though.
I gotta disagree. I think the commercial hits home for it's target audience...the average joe who isn't as savvy as you fellas.
There is no excuse for pirating anything. If it's not yours and you take it...it's stealing. Period. It doesn't matter how much they would have or wouldn't have made...it's theirs to decide how it's treated. Anyone who's ever worked in that type of industry (freelance) knows that you usually don't know where your next paycheck is coming from. They aren't the directors that can afford to make one movie a year....they're working stiffs who have to keep working through out the year to make ends meet. Pirating an individual movie probably won't hurt his pay for that movie since he's already been paid...but it does bring down the value in the industry. So if Paramount makes one less movie next year b/c of pirating...well that's 3-500 jobs that won't be given. That's 6-8 months of work or longer that those people could have had a job.
And don't forget, just because we may only do it once in a blue moon, there are folks out there pirating every movie and making big bucks off of it. It's not their's...they are stealing. Don't forget, that one less movie made next year might have been your big break.
I don't know, I've talked to a lot of 'working stiffs' who think the ad is a joke. Which it is. If any of the studios actually DO start making less movies, I'll eat my words and grin and bear it, but they won't. I'm against downloading movies simply because I wouldn't want anyone to see an inferior copy of MY film. But while people are making money off pirated copies, I don't think the studios are losing any revenue. What the MPAA should be more worried about is the influx of shitty movies that cost way too much money.
Yep, I'm in agreeance with GB. The commercial is cheese and shit, and there's gotta be a better way to fight this fight.
Metro, what you forget is that saavy fellas like us give a shit about films, whereas average Joe could give a fuck less if he buys a pirated movie. Fuck these public service commercials, start passing some new rules and hiring some thugs and cracking down on these pirates (?!). Appealing to their sense of deceny and goodwill with Joe Setbuilder ain't gonna change anyone's mind.
QuoteI don't know, I've talked to a lot of 'working stiffs' who think the ad is a joke.
Well it may indeed be a joke if their expectations are that it will stop pirating. I think that is true, it will not stop pirating. However, not having food on the table is not a joke, we can agree on that. And the commercial gets to the heart of the matter whether it's effective or not.
QuoteMetro, what you forget is that saavy fellas like us give a shit about films, whereas average Joe could give a fuck less if he buys a pirated movie. Fuck these public service commercials, start passing some new rules and hiring some thugs and cracking down on these pirates (?!). Appealing to their sense of deceny and goodwill with Joe Setbuilder ain't gonna change anyone's mind.
That's probably true. Joe Public has lost it's sense of decency and goodwill, heck just look at the movies they watch.
Touche!
So... what you all are saying is Bringing Down the House was bad?
..."you gots me straight trippin' boo!" :wink:
who BUYS pirated movies anymore? i used to download movies a lot when i first got my cable modem, but it takes too much effort to locate the movie and actually get a full working copy of it. the only time i will download something is if i've seen it in the theaters and really enjoyed it and must see it again and it's gone out of theaters. actually, punch drunk love was the last movie i downloaded and i never even got a chance to watch it, so there.
backing up dvd's is another story though...
Can't it be that they are losing more money than we think on piracy? People automatically assume companies lie to us.
The movie business knows that in the next couple of years, as internet connections get faster and copying systems get faster, they will face the same things that the music industry is facing right now... so they're just trying to cut it all off at the pass before it gets to be a giant issue... their view is "let's let the music schmucks look like idiots with all of their lawsuits and stuff... we'll just tag along by using their message, that way, when it's our turn, people won't turn against us!"... virtually a pre-emptive strike...
How do we know this? How do we know they're trying to use other industries etc? Isn't it possible that they are concerned about this? That they don't want to lose money?
Do you honestly think they're out to screw the public? It's like we think all industries are corrupted.
Maybe I'm naive...or maybe not.
I don't think the industry is out to screw people. They just want to make money. And they're going through a transition. There are DINOSAURS like Jack Valenti who's been running the MPAA for 40 years! He's the one who initiated the screener ban. We're dealing with middle-aged men (some even older) who have formalized ways of doing things that are out of synch with the direction we're going -- yet they're too powerful to get out of the way.
There was a recent article I read that stated by the year 2008 we're not going to be attending MOVIE THEATERS anymore. They'll be ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEXES. About 1/3 of their profits will derive from digital projection of concerts and other specialty events.
This will further put an emphasis on home entertainment with streaming internet video and play on request type things. That's where it's all going.
Quote from: mutinycoThere was a recent article I read that stated by the year 2008 we're not going to be attending MOVIE THEATERS anymore. They'll be ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEXES. About 1/3 of their profits will derive from digital projection of concerts and other specialty events.
There are already places like this in L.A.... this place called the Sherman Oaks Galleria is totally like this... the anchor is a giant multiplex Pacific Theater, and all around are stores that support that entertainment... the place is meant to be visited by people who want to enjoy entertainment... there are no stores that sell anything of great imoportance... just restaurants and the theater... oh, and a Tower Records... so you basically go there for a birthday or party of some sort... you can buy the gift at the Tower, eat at one of the restaurants, and go to the movie afterwards... you own little self-contained entertainment utopia... and they sometimes project concerts (i don't know if live, but maybe taped)... and there's anotehr place called the Howard Hughes Center which is EXACTLY the same type of thing, but just replace the Tower with a Borders (or B&N... I always confuse these)... plus this place has an IMAX that shows everything from IMAX movies to large format wide-release movies (i.e. the Matrix, Lord of the Rings, etc.) and sometimes live events).
Quote from: mutinycoThey just want to make money. And they're going through a transition. There are DINOSAURS like Jack Valenti who's been running the MPAA for 40 years!
Click here (http://chron.edgecity.net/story/2002/6/1/105724/6394) to read a transcription of Valenti's passionate speech against VCRs (which he compared to the Boston Strangler) in 1982. Talk about being consistently behind the curve...
No, I've never downloaded a movie. I have very rarely downloaded music. Only when I need it for a project or something. I did have a burning temptation to bootleg Kill Bill the other day, but I decided against it. It wouldn't be right. But mna, did I ever want to.
If I buy a CD or movie, is it not mine? Am I not allowed to do what I want with it (with the exception of selling it, which is shaky in itself)? If I have a CD or movie, and say I wanna lend it to my bro. Is that wrong? What if a kid at school wants to see it. I lend it to him, because I own it. I'm allowed to do that, right? My brother made a copy for me of Kid A. Later on, a girl I knew asked if I had the CD, I said yes, and I made a copy for her. A copy of my copy. Ever done that? This is the same thing, is it not? yes, we dont' all know each other personally on the internet. But if you're willing to let your internet "friend" borrow this from you, or have a copy, it's yours, right? It's all the same thing, just taken to a much larger scale. That's the internet's fault. Everything's faster and bigger now. Every get a CD for Christmas, then years later, you don't really like it, and sell it to Hastings or something? Is this not the same thing? You may not have bought it, but you still sell it.
Now, downloading BOOTLEGS, I'm against. I'm against bootlegs, period. If it's still in the theatre, or not out on DVD or something, I can understand people against that kind of piracy. I can also understand the problem when people sell the bootlegs.
For me, the main point is, as Ghostboy already said, watching crappy copies of movies suck, and I hope that never happens with my movies. It destroys the vision. That's why I don't do any kind of "piracy" anymore.
You can't compare downloading movies to downloading music. For one, with music downloads, you are getting the exact same product as you would if you get the CD. There is no degradation, therefore, it is more of a temptation to just download it instead of buy it.
However, I still don't think audio downloads are a bad thing. If you look at music trends in the last decade, you'll see a huge cross-genre jump for individuals when music downloading software (primarily Napster) first became popular. This has resulted in most people liking a multitude of classifications in music and therefore purchasing other genres then their original "liked" one, thus expanding the musical market and benefiting the majority of musical artists.
Back to movies though, downloading a movie is like getting a slice of pizza for free when you really want to whole thing. It may satisfy sometimes, but it will never replace the craving.
I suppose the studios want the following scenario to occur:
Evil Joe Pirate enters movie theater with his MiniDV camera. The lights dim. Joe Setbuilder appears onscreen appealing to viewers not to pirate films. Evil Joe Pirate is so moved that he puts away his camera, never to pirate a film again.
The studios are making assloads of money with DVDs. They get no sympathy from me if they spend $80 million on an idiotic movie. I always see hundreds of people at movie theaters. I can't imagine that many people gather around a friend's computer screen to watch a fuzzy pirate of the latest release.
Quote from: RaviI can't imagine that many people gather around a friend's computer screen to watch a fuzzy pirate of the latest release.
That's what I thought, until one of my friends told me about seeing Kill Bill this weekend...at a friend's house. That bastard.
I had an interesting conversation with my friend's brother just yesterday... he wrote a paper about piracy for a school project... I posed him this question, which kinda made him go mute... I never buy new CDs... I ALWAYS buy used CDs... so the record company isn't getting my money in that case either... so what's the difference between buying a used CD, and downloading a song? In niether case if the record company getting my cold hard cash. I'm against piracy, but doesn't this make you think? Why haven't they tried putting a stop to selling used CDs?
Nick
Well, first they have tried to put a stop to used CD's (remember Garth Brooks?), but they weren't successful.
The difference in buying a used CD and downloading is that the theory is that when someone sells that CD...they lose the priveledge of owning that song. You are not supposed to make copies for that reason. The law allows you to make copies for you own use...as back up or in a different medium, not so you can recoup your cost for the original. However, when you download...you are simply making an indentical copy and now two people own and are listening to that song.
If your friend wrote an entire paper on piracy and can't see that, well, I'm glad I'm not grading him.
Calif. Readies for New Movie Piracy Law
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sneaking a camcorder into a movie theater will soon be a crime in California under a new law designed to protect both copyrights and the livelihood of thousands of movie industry workers.
"This industry is the economic engine that moves this city,'' Police Chief William Bratton said at a City Hall press conference Thursday.
The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, allows moviegoers to make a citizen's arrest if they see someone in a theater with a recording device. Signs will also be posted at all Los Angeles County theaters notifying patrons of the new law.
The effort is aimed mainly at camcorders, which account for 92 percent of all illegal copies of films that appear for sale over the Internet and are sold on street corners, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA is seeking to enact similar laws in other states and is backing an effort to make the illegal taping of a film a federal felony.
The law, which was signed by former Gov. Gray Davis, was written to also include future technologies and could be enforced against people recording all or parts of a film with a tape recorder, hand-held computer or even a cell phone.
City and county law enforcement officers say they will respond to calls from theaters to assist in making the citizen's arrest if resources permit. People convicted under the law could be subject to a maximum one year in jail and a fine of $2,500.
"These thieves are stealing from Los Angeles and are stealing from American creativity,'' city attorney Rocky Delgadillo said Thursday.
Clutching a palm-sized camcorder in one hand, Delgadillo paraphrased the movie character "Dirty Harry,'' portrayed by actor Clint Eastwood. "If you carry one of these into a movie theater, you have to ask yourself, 'Do I feel lucky?'''
HAHAHAHAA ...that last paragraph is pure cheese.like this.... :mrgreen:
Quote from: RaikusYou can't compare downloading movies to downloading music. For one, with music downloads, you are getting the exact same product as you would if you get the CD. There is no degradation, therefore, it is more of a temptation to just download it instead of buy it.
This is not necessarily true. I have heard many MP3s that were modified by ppl using EQ software. I have heard some pretty crappy studio recordings end up sounding muffled or majorly distorted even at low volume. You are not always d/l ing the exact same song in it's studio released version (so to speak).
I have never d/l ed movies from the net since my pc doesn't even compare anywhere near my home theater set up. I want the best sound and picture available and not have to sit 3' from the screen. It's like AM vs. FM radio.....remember AM?
Yo!!!! Freak!!!!! i wanted say that your AV is solid...... 8)
Thanks Neon. I see that ppl change them every so often and figured that everyone got tired of seeing Bobby Peru's head blown off. I'll have to come up with one even better this next time though.
piracy is a majjor thing where im from...
sometimes its very hard to resist especially when theres a new movie that you really want to watch and you know will never show where you are.
Quote from: freakerdudeQuote from: RaikusYou can't compare downloading movies to downloading music. For one, with music downloads, you are getting the exact same product as you would if you get the CD. There is no degradation, therefore, it is more of a temptation to just download it instead of buy it.
This is not necessarily true. I have heard many MP3s that were modified by ppl using EQ software. I have heard some pretty crappy studio recordings end up sounding muffled or majorly distorted even at low volume. You are not always d/l ing the exact same song in it's studio released version (so to speak).
I have never d/l ed movies from the net since my pc doesn't even compare anywhere near my home theater set up. I want the best sound and picture available and not have to sit 3' from the screen. It's like AM vs. FM radio.....remember AM?
But this is the exception rather than the norm. I'd say if you seek out to download a song 90% of the time it will be the exact same file as what you'd get if you ripped it from the CD. But with movies, the visual aspect ensures that you'll want to see it in the best possible setting (i.e. theater).
Quote from: RaikusNo computer is ever going to compete with the screen, sound, and feeling of seeing a good movie in a theater.
That's exactly why I've never downloaded a movie unless that's the only possible way to see it.
Quote from: godardianQuote from: RaikusNo computer is ever going to compete with the screen, sound, and feeling of seeing a good movie in a theater.
That's exactly why I've never downloaded a movie unless that's the only possible way to see it.
Yeah, I downloaded Eraserhead, because I wanted to see it before I dished out, what, fifty bucks for it. I think the aspect ratio is wrong though oh well.
I've downloaded lots of movies, but it was mostly because I liked to say I had them, I haven't actually watched them. A few I will one of these days.
Quote from: metroshaneQuoteI don't know, I've talked to a lot of 'working stiffs' who think the ad is a joke.
Well it may indeed be a joke if their expectations are that it will stop pirating. I think that is true, it will not stop pirating. However, not having food on the table is not a joke, we can agree on that. And the commercial gets to the heart of the matter whether it's effective or not.
I haven't seen this commercial (don't know that I want to) but GIVE ME A BREAK. (no offense). If you can provide one shred of evidence that somebody is actually going hungry because people are downloading movies I'll eat my words, no pun intended (ok, maybe it was). I'll be the first to admit my complete cluelessness in terms of actual figures on how pirating movies is affecting the industry but I would love to see some if anybody has them, even if they prove me wrong (which I know someone out there would just love to do). My uninformed guess would be in the vicinity of %0.001.
Quote from: kotteHow do we know this? How do we know they're trying to use other industries etc? Isn't it possible that they are concerned about this? That they don't want to lose money?
Do you honestly think they're out to screw the public? It's like we think all industries are corrupted.
Maybe I'm naive...or maybe not.
I think that the association with wanting to make as much money as possible and corruption is something that is in a lot of people's minds, but making as much money as possible is what any company is encouraged to do. The real question is should the average person who downloads a movie give a sh*t about people who don't give a sh*t about them?
LAPD captain arrested for DVD piracy
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A veteran police captain was arrested Tuesday for allegedly selling pirated and counterfeit DVDs, authorities said.
Hollywood patrol Capt. Julie D. Nelson, a 28-year veteran, was arrested in the Orange County city of La Palma, the LAPD said.
More than 100 pirated and counterfeit DVDs were found in her home and in cars, authorities said.
Nelson was arrested for investigation of two felonies: failure to disclose the origin of a recording or audiovisual work and possession and sale of a counterfeit trademark or registered mark.
She has been relieved of duty and assigned to her home, according to an LAPD press statement.
Officer Jason Lee said the LAPD's Professional Standards Bureau began to investigate after receiving a tip that Nelson might be involved in illegal DVD sales.
The bureau conducted an undercover operation and bought several pirated copies, he said.
"When the department receives information that one of its own is breaking the law, regardless of rank, we will pursue every lead using every available resource," LAPD First Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell said.
"She has been relieved of duty and assigned to her house." :lol:
Aren't the bigger piracy culprits the people in labs and studios with access to a film rather than the people sneaking camcorders into theaters?
This made me reread this thread: http://www.xixax.com/viewtopic.php?t=1052
I only buy CD's of new bands that I like which there are very very few of....most of the stuff I listen to is downloaded cause most of the artists I listen to are either already rich for life or dead, so I feel ok about it for better or for worse.
I will never ever ever download movies and it makes me sick to my stomach to think we might be watching movies alone solely on computers in the future if piracy of movies continues with such popularity. I'm not against it just because I want to go into the industry, (that is part of it of course) I just love cinema way too much to do it. It's not how the films were meant to be seen and even if I didn't care about those intentions, it's not a way that I enjoy watching them...they're mostly poor quality and they can't generate the feelings they generate when seen the way they were intended to be either in the theatre or on DVD or VHS. It's like jacking off to the blocked out porn channel when you could be getting a hooker that you know for sure is disease-free. You know the DVD is going to be quality, you know it won't disappoint. It's the same thing with the theatre. Both experiences are worth the price they have been marked with.
Music was meant to be listened to...either live or on headphones or on a stereo...those are the intentions of most artists and I support those intentions even though I don't buy 90% of the music I listen to. Filmmaker's intend for their work to be seen in theatres or on dvd/video...not on a fucking computer monitor. And as for people that burn the dvd's....hurt cinema all you want, have a fucking ball.
fuck jack valenti
Oscar Screener Copy of Movie Found Online
A copy of the romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give" that was sent to an Oscar voter has surfaced on the Internet, prompting a probe by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Academy officials said Monday that they learned last week about the unauthorized online copy of the movie starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, which ranked fifth in last weekend's box office tally.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that visible and hidden markings on the videocassette copy on the Internet identify it as the one sent to Carmine Caridi, a film and television actor who appeared in the "The Godfather: Part II" and television's "NYPD Blue."
The academy required its 5,803 eligible Oscar voters to sign forms promising to protect their screener tapes before they were received. About 80 percent of voters signed and returned the forms.
An excerpt of the form reads: "I agree not to allow the screeners to circulate outside of my residence or office. I agree not to allow them to be reproduced in any fashion, and not to sell them or to give them away at any time. ... I agree that a violation of this agreement will constitute grounds for my expulsion from the Academy and may also result in civil and criminal penalties."
The Times said Caridi, 69, couldn't be reached for comment. His telephone number is not listed.
Bruce Davis, the academy's executive director, declined to identify the Oscar member being investigated. Davis said a phone call was made to the member who said he would call back to explain the matter more fully, but the member never did. The academy has sent a letter seeking an explanation for how the screener copy wound up on the Internet, but has not received an answer.
Sony Pictures Entertainment, whose Columbia Pictures produced and distributed the movie, notified the academy last week about the online screener copy.
"We did everything we could to ensure the secure handling of all of our screeners sent to members of the academy," Sony spokesman Steve Elzer told the Times. "We are very concerned about this situation, and have turned over all relevant information to the academy."
Sony officials said they'll decide whether to pursue legal action once the academy's investigation is completed.
Hey, on a related note, has anybody seen the new Piracy ads, with that stuntman guy? Not that I like these ads in any way, but at least it's light years better than orange-beard setbuilder...
Oscar Voters Movie Copies on Internet
LOS ANGELES - Two additional movies sent to Oscar voters have surfaced on the Internet, with a screener copy of "House of Sand and Fog" briefly up for sale on an auction site and "Cold Mountain" available for downloading, studios said.
Miramax said Wednesday it was looking into how an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screener copy of its Civil War epic "Cold Mountain" was posted on the Internet.
The actual videocassette copy of the grim drama "House of Sand and Fog" was up for sale on eBay before DreamWorks SKG contacted the site and asked that it be removed.
The Los Angeles Times reported that security features on the tape indicated that it belonged to Ivan Kruglak, an academy member and president of a wireless data communications company.
Kruglak told the newspaper he didn't know how a copy of his tape was posted for sale online, saying, "I firmly believe someone at the duplicating house made themselves a copy before the studio sent it to me."
Earlier in the week, the academy said copies of "Something's Gotta Give" and "The Last Samurai" had been posted online.
The Internet postings come after an anti-piracy campaign by the film industry, which has estimated that unauthorized movie copying costs it $3.5 billion a year. The 5,803 Academy members eligible to vote this year were required to sign forms promising to protect their screener tapes.
haha, at least now they can blame it on a couple of old geezers and not useful ppl.
Ticket Prices Surge Past $10 Level
In New York, ticket prices broke the $10 barrier for the first time, with admission prices upped to $10.25 for adults and $6.75 for children at the Loews Cineplex and United Artists theaters in Manhattan, according to the New York Daily News. Nationally, ticket prices rose about 4 percent in 2003, the Wall Street Journal, observed, noting that despite the rise, gross revenue for the year declined about 1 percent, translating to a drop of 4.23 percent in actual ticket sales. The newspaper suggested that a significant cause of the drop may be attributed to piracy.
FBI Makes Arrest in Oscar Screener Piracy
LOS ANGELES - FBI agents said Thursday they have traced the bootlegging and illegal Internet distribution of films such as "The Last Samurai" to an Academy Award member, and arrested a second man in connection with the case.
Carmine Caridi admitted in an affidavit released Thursday that he sent every so-called "screener" videotape he's received for the past three years to an acquaintance in the Chicago area, Russell W. Sprague.
Sprague, 51, was arrested at his home in Homewood, Ill., on Thursday after a search of his home turned up hundreds of films, many of which had been converted to DVD format and had the Academy's encryption code erased, along with an array of duplicating equipment, authorities said.
Sprague is charged with criminal copyright infringement and is to appear in a federal court in Chicago on Friday, officials said.
Caridi, 69, said he sent VHS copies of about 60 movies he received each year to Sprague via Federal Express. Once Sprague made a copy, he'd send them back to Caridi, the FBI said.
Caridi, who also has appeared in movies such as "The Godfather: Part II" and "The Godfather: Part III," said he received no money for the films.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents studios, last year banned the distribution of screener DVDs and videotapes over concerns about bootlegging, but partly lifted the ban after complaints from filmmakers, producers and independent production companies.
The studios changed the policy in October to allow the shipment of encoded videocassettes to Academy Award voters only. A federal judge in December, however, granted a temporary injunction lifting the screener ban in a lawsuit brought by independent production companies, which argued the policy put them at a disadvantage for awards. The studios then sent screener tapes to thousands of other awards voters.
The academy required its 5,803 eligible Oscar voters to sign forms promising to protect their screener tapes. About 80 percent of voters signed and returned the forms, which include a stipulation that a violation is grounds for expulsion from the academy.
i hate putting in a reply to a thread that's been going along for a while, but yes, i do download movies. only when i'm really bored. in fact, the only two movies i've downloaded successfuly were *ahem* johnny english [the proverbial nothing-to-do kind of day], and [don't kill me] punch-drunk love. i've seen punch-drunk at the cinema twice and bought it on dvd the first day it came out, but i just wanted it on my computer to see if i could burn it and give to a friend of mine who actually likes it, and he's like a kind of thuggish guy who's completely not a movie person, so that was a nice surprise to hear him come to me and ask if i've seen that movie. i kind of freaked out at that.
but anyways, i download music alot. honestly, i don't see myself buying music anymore. i do d/l alot of television shows, mainly curb your enthusiasm.
so yeah, i would only really download a movie if i really feel it's not worth the money, or if it's hard to find and i can't see it any other way.
Film Industry Suing Computer Users
Taking a cue from recording companies, Hollywood movie studios are preparing to file copyright infringement lawsuits against computer users they say are illegally distributing movies online, a source familiar with the studios' plans said Wednesday.
The lawsuits will target movie fans who share digitized versions of films over peer-to-peer networks, with the first wave of litigation planned for as early as Thursday, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Like the recording industry, which began suing individual music file-sharers last year, the movie studios plan an ongoing litigation campaign, the source said.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the major film studios, declined to comment Wednesday. But the organization issued a release saying MPAA president and chief executive Dan Glickman would be making "a major announcement regarding illegal file sharing of motion pictures on peer-to-peer networks" early Thursday.
Studio executives, legislators, filmmakers and union leaders, among others, were scheduled to participate in the news conference, according to the MPAA statement.
The movie studios were still finalizing how many lawsuits would make up their initial filing, but it would probably be around 200 or so, the source said.
Videotaped copies of films in theaters often are digitized or burned off DVDs and then distributed on file-sharing networks accessed with software programs like eDonkey, Kazaa and Grokster.
In the past, the MPAA has said its members were reluctant to take legal action against individual file-sharers. But Glickman, who took over the MPAA in September, has made fighting movie piracy top priority.
The MPAA claims the U.S. movie industry loses more than $3 billion annually in potential global revenue because of physical piracy, or bogus copies of videos and DVDs of its films.
The MPAA doesn't give an estimate for how much online piracy costs the industry annually, but claims the health of the industry is at stake as the copying and distribution of movies online continues to grow unabated.
Along with the recording industry, movie studios have tried to shut down companies behind file-sharing software through litigation with little success.
The movie industry has also tried to battle piracy by running ads in movie theaters and elsewhere designed to dissuade people from file-sharing films by stressing the risks of identity theft and liability.
While the lawsuit campaign may thwart some computer users from downloading movies online, it's not likely to make much of a dent on file-sharing, said Fred von Lohmann, a senior intellectual property attorney who represented software distributor StreamCast in a copyright infringement case against film and recording companies earlier this year.
"This won't do any good," von Lohmann said. "The recording industry lawsuits don't appear to have reduced file-sharing to any meaningful degree."
Re: do you fuck the industry you want to be in?
No, but the industry I want to be in fucks me. :P
that's deep, man.
Quote from: meatbullRe: do you fuck the industry you want to be in?
No, but the industry I want to be in fucks me. :P
The question is, does it feel good?...Ok, I gotta stop with the stupid comebacks.
I used to steal mad movies from stores without servailance or alarms, it was cool, a rush, addictive. I stole about 12 dvds and became a narcilept. but i went to this "stealing is for suckers" program and it truly changed me.
I'm a new man
Quote from: reelistics07narcilept
So the movies caused you to get last place in the spelling bee and fall asleep suddenly?
Quote from: Weak2ndActQuote from: reelistics07narcilept
So the movies caused you to get last place in the spelling bee and fall asleep suddenly?
:lol: ....mmmm...probably
Quote from: reelistics07I used to steal mad movies from stores without servailance or alarms, it was cool, a rush, addictive. I stole about 12 dvds and became a narcilept. but i went to this "stealing is for suckers" program and it truly changed me.
I'm a new man
dumbass, that story sucked.
damnt i knew narcilept was the wrong word? whats the right word? its a..... cleptomaniac! you see, cilept and clepto, it messed me up but actually most of the movies i stole were one timers and they sucked ass, one hour photo, cabin fever, fucking, the autobiogrpahy of malcom x with morg freeman (that is bad) pubrick, yeah shitty story. hater. i'm sorry i guess im not one to entertain. just... telling stories.
I get whatever I can for free. Fuck paying for something if I can get it for free. I'm not gonna go pay 17 bucks for a cd when I can download it for free. If the cd was 8 bucks I would buy it but I don't feel bad one bit downloading music, most of the albums suck anyways and only have one of two good songs, and if the album is good its not popular enough to the point where if i did actually buy it the artist would make some money cause its selling so well. What I will do though is go check out that artists show when they come to town. Im sure they want that alot more than me buying their album. If anything all downloading music will do is force musicians to make better albums so people will actually buy them as oppose to downloading the two or three songs that dont suck on said album. Movie are a different story, i usually get them for free some way or another, either sneaking into the theater or getting a dvd for free like a promo. What the fuck do I care if the studio doesn't make any money off that movie? The filmmaker and all the people i actually want to support already have their money. I don't give a shit if i saw it for free and the movie didn't break 70 mil opening weekend so Will Smith doesn't get his back end gotta make this much opening weekend money, money. Plus, I don't wanna pay 10 bucks to sit in a theater with fucking assholes who talk through the whole movie and snort and make out and act stupid, if someone wants to make noise and answer a cell phone they can give me 10 bucks and they can watch one of the many promo dvd's i have in my home, at least that way the money is going to a worthy cause, me. I usually don't go to the movies, i wait for the dvd where I can watch it in the comfort of my own home and not have to worry about 5-0 busting through the door with billy clubs runing my movie going experience cause some hilllybilly made a comment talking about homosexualism when two guys kiss and then get blown up and then get aids and then credits roll and then me and the redneck next to me are out 10 bucks and im pissed at him for being an ignorant redneck and not appreciating action-arthouse and I stab him. I don't wanna go to jail and I don't wanna be broke. Everyone lives, everyone wins.
Hollywood's Latest Weapon - DVD Sniffing Dogs
WASHINGTON — Hollywood's newest stars are perfectly happy to go straight to DVD.
And Hollywood is perfectly happy to go to the dogs.
On Tuesday, the Motion Picture Assn. of America showed off Lucky and Flo, a pair of playful, 2-year-old black Labrador retrievers with noses trained to zero in on DVDs, including the pirated kind.
During a briefing at the MPAA's headquarters, Lucky and Flo took turns sniffing out DVDs hidden in a box.
"They tend to be cheaper than most employees and they don't demand raises all the time," said John Malcolm, the MPAA's director of worldwide anti-piracy operations.
Still, the first ever DVD-sniffing dogs didn't come that cheap. The MPAA spent about $9,000 on each to train them over eight months. But the group said that was a small price compared with losses from pirated DVDs, estimated by the industry at $11.1 billion in 2005.
MPAA Chief Executive Dan Glickman gave the go-ahead for the project. As Agriculture secretary in the 1990s, he had seen the success of the department's "Beagle Brigade" in identifying prohibited foods at U.S. borders.
It turns out that DVDs also have a unique smell — not just the ones that were stinkers at the box office — probably from the resins and polycarbonates used to produce the discs.
"There is a scent that comes off the DVD that the dog is absolutely dead-set on finding," said Neil Powell, a Northern Ireland sniffer dog expert who trained Lucky and Flo. If there's a scent — whether it's from DVDs, drugs or explosives — a dog can be trained to sniff it out.
Lucky and Flo can't distinguish between legitimate and bootleg DVDs, but customs officials can identify smugglers by checking the declarations for the packages that the dogs point out, Malcolm said.
The dogs aren't actually sniffing out DVDs in a real-world setting, just showing it's possible. The MPAA, which hopes to loan them to customs officials or private shipping firms, is taking its dog show on the road, to Los Angeles, Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Britain.
The world tour even has a Hollywood touch: commemorative "Lucky & Flo K-9 Pirate Smackdown" T-shirts.
yes, because that's definitely the major weakness... people are smuggling movies already burnt onto a DVD into the country.
Be Loyal, Kind and Don't Steal Movies
A Boy Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc., etc. He is also respectful of copyrights.
Boy Scouts in the Los Angeles area will now be able to earn a merit patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music.
The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a "C" enclosed in a circle.
The movie industry has developed the curriculum.
"Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft," Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in a statement Friday.
Scouts will be instructed in the basics of copyright law and learn how to identify five types of copyrighted works and three ways copyrighted materials may be stolen.
Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music.
In the last 3 years, I've downloaded only one movie. An Inconvenient Truth. I figured Al Gore invented the internet so it's his fault anyway.
Bounty offered to kill 2 sniffer dogs
Lucky and Flo, the two Labradors who helped sniff out nearly 1 million illegal discs last week within days of joining Malaysia's anti-piracy effort, have been moved to a safe house, a news report said Thursday.
The New Straits Times reported that a source had tipped off officials about a bounty offered for killing the sniffer dogs, who are on loan for a month from the Motion Picture Association of America. The amount was not disclosed.
"The dogs are a genuine threat to the pirated disc syndicates, thus the instruction to eliminate them," Firdaus Zakaria, the enforcement director of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, was quoted as saying.
He did not elaborate on the information received by the ministry.
Firdaus and senior ministry officials could not be immediately reached for further details on the report. A spokesman contacted by The Associated Press declined to comment.
Lucky and Flo, who were pressed into service on March 13, gained fame after they sniffed out a massive shipment of pirated movie DVDs in office complex in southern Johor state on March 19.
The canines detected the discs hidden behind locked doors, which officials broke open with crowbars to reveal a cache of nearly 1 million discs worth $2.8 million. Five Malaysians and a Vietnamese man also were arrested in the operation.
It is the first time dogs have been used by authorities anywhere in the world to detect contraband discs, according to Mike Ellis, regional director for the MPAA.
The MPAA says its members — including top Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Universal — lost $1.2 billion to Asia-Pacific movie pirates in 2006.
Lucky and Flo are trained to detect polycarbonates — chemicals used in the disc manufacturing process. They cannot tell the difference between real and pirated discs, but can detect discs hidden in shipments or concealed places.
Malaysia is among the world's top illegal movie producers and exporters, Washington and the MPAA have said. It is one of 36 countries on a U.S. watch list of serious copyright violators.
Officials say 5 million discs were seized in more than 2,000 raids in the Southeast Asian nation last year, and 780 people were arrested.
China remains at the top of the MPAA's movie piracy list.
Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom
Brief Taping Brings Charges
Source: Washington Post
Jhannet Sejas and her boyfriend were celebrating her 19th birthday by taking in a matinee showing of the hit movie "Transformers" at the theater at Ballston Common mall.
Sejas was enjoying the movie so much that she decided to film a short clip of the sci-fi adventure's climax to get her little brother hyped to go see it.
Minutes later, two Arlington County police officers were pointing their flashlights at the young couple in the darkened theater and ordering them out. They confiscated the digital camera as evidence and charged Sejas, a Marymount University sophomore and Annandale resident, with a crime: illegally recording a motion picture.
"I was terrified," said Sejas, her voice breaking. "I was crying. I've never been in trouble before." She said the assistant manager of the theater saw her holding up the Canon Power Shot and reported it to the general manager, who called police.
Sejas said she had no intention of selling the 20-second film clip. She just wanted to show it to her 13-year-old brother, who had said he wanted to see the movie. She was shocked when the officers showed up.
Sejas faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 when she goes to trial this month in the July 17 incident. Arlington police spokesman John Lisle said it was the decision of Regal Cinemas Ballston Common 12 to prosecute the case, a first for Arlington police.
"They were the victim in this case, and they felt strongly enough about it," he said. The general manager of Regal Cinemas declined to comment yesterday.
Movie pirating cost the industry $18.2 billion worldwide in 2005, the last year for which figures were available, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Moviegoers are increasingly carrying cellphones, digital cameras and other devices capable of recording.
"Ninety percent of recently released films that are pirated are done by camcording in movie theaters," said Kori Bernards, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America. "It's happening all over. And there's been a rash of camcording in the Washington area of late."
Besides facing a misdemeanor charge, Sejas was also banned for life from the movie theater she has frequented. Sejas, a Bolivian immigrant who works two part-time jobs to help finance her education, works at the Victoria's Secret store near the movie theater.
Her boyfriend, Ivar Villazon, said the camera belongs to his sister; the couple borrowed it, Sejas said, to "make memories" on her birthday.
Kendrick Macdowell, general counsel for the Washington-based National Association of Theatre Owners, said that illegal pirating of films costs the industry billions of dollars and that the industry was stepping up efforts to stamp it out.
Because of that, he said, there has to be a "zero-tolerance policy at the theater level."
"We cannot educate theater managers to be judges and juries in what is acceptable," he said. "Theater managers cannot distinguish between good and bad stealing."
Macdowell said the trade association, which represents 28,000 screens nationwide, realizes there is a difference between "egregious acts of stealing our movies and more innocent ones." But he said that distinction needed to be made in court rather than by theater managers.
Not everyone agrees.
"The movie industry needs to recognize that their audience isn't the enemy," said Cindy Cohn, general counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit group that specializes in digital rights issues. "They need to stop treating their fans like criminals. . . . What they're doing is extremely unreasonable, coming down on this poor girl who was actually trying to promote their movie."
Copying a motion picture from a theater performance is a felony under the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005, punishable by up to three years in a federal prison. Several states, including Virginia, also have anti-piracy laws.
Jason Schultz, senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said he is aware of only one case prosecuted under the federal statute. In September 2005, a Missouri theater employee pleaded guilty to two counts of using a camcorder to copy two movies.
He said he has never heard of a case like Sejas's.
"I've heard of people's devices being confiscated, or them being kicked out of the theater," Schultz said. "This is the first criminal arrest for someone filming for personal use that I know of."
Sandy Hughes, Sejas's attorney, said she hopes she can resolve the case before it goes to trial Aug. 21 in Arlington General District Court.
Villazon said he and his girlfriend had taken a bunch of birthday pictures of each other in the mall, posing with a "guy and girl in a cow suit" at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in the food court.
They got to the movie a few minutes after it started. And even though they paid $15 for two matinee tickets, they missed the end.
QuoteMovie pirating cost the industry $18.2 billion worldwide in 2005
how did they figure that out?
Its bullshit... same as the music industry... they project what they would like to make, minus what they ended up making, and thats the number left.
Its like me wanting to make a million dollars this year, then making 100k and blaming somebody else for not making the other 900k.
I only go to the movies if it's a date with a hot chick or a friend REALLY wants to go. I've been to one movie in the last 3 years, and that was because a friend REALLY wanted to go.
Everything is downloaded.
$15 to see a half hour of commercials and an hour and a half movie? HAHA.
I dont mind going and paying, even though its ridiculously expensive now. In Miami, movies are $9.50. Then add a couple drinks and something to eat (maybe $15 more) and you have to pay for parking (another $5).
The problem is not paying, but that you need to get to the theatre early to get good seats, sit through 30 minutes of commercials before you get to the 15 minutes of previews, and then watch a movie with 200 retarded people who scream, laugh at unfunny jokes, use their fucking cell phones, etc.
And that is also the reason why I keep going... downloaded movies usually are CAMCORDERS for the first few months, and you have to watch it with all the noises and shit from the theatre. It takes a few months until a good quality movie is available for download. Sometimes I just prefer to wait for the DVD to come out...
Quote from: MacGuffin on August 03, 2007, 11:51:50 AM
Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom
Teen Pleads Guilty in Rare Theater Filming CaseSource: Wired
The teen arrested last month for filming 20 seconds of Transformers in a Virginia theater has pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully recording a motion picture in violation of state law.
The case is believed to be the first in which somebody was arrested and convicted for filming part of a movie for personal, noncommercial use in the United States.
The guilty plea by Jhannet Sejas, 19, a Marymount University sophomore, spared her a maximum year in jail. Under last week's deal in Arlington County General District Court, Sejas was fined $71 in court costs and could have been on the hook for a maximum $2,500 fine, according to court records.
When arrested on her birthday last month, the Annandale, Virginia, resident said she was taking the short clip with a Canon PowerShot to show her 13-year-old brother. Neither Sejas nor her attorney were immediately available for comment. If Sejas stays out of trouble for a year, the misdemeanor will be expunged from her record.
According to the most recent numbers by the Motion Picture Association of America, movie pirating has cost the industry $18.2 billion worldwide. An association spokeswoman said figures for 2006 are expected soon.
Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, said 104 theater personnel nationwide in the last three years have been awarded about $500 each, in a joint venture between the owners association and the MPAA, for identifying pirates in movie houses.
"One of the dilemmas that employees face is trying to decide who is copying for distribution and who's taking just a quick screenshot, which isn't as harmful but is against the law in most jurisdictions," Corcoran said in an interview.
In a statement, he added: "We hope that this case reinforces our efforts to educate the public that unauthorized recording, whether a clip or the whole film, in movie theaters is against the law."