Hollywood is Saved! - FBI Thwarts Half of US Camcorder Piracy
Filed under: Home Entertainment
It just got a little harder for you to buy bootleg movies in Chinatown, and your chances of getting Superman Returns off the internet are a little smaller. But Dan Glickman, head of the MPAA, and all the studio heads in Hollywood slept a little better last night, because on Wednesday, the FBI arrested 13 people from two separate groups responsible for what is believed to be half of all the camcorder piracy in the U.S. (and one-quarter of it worldwide). Even though nobody on Earth really likes these shoddy copies -- they are videotaped inside of theaters, so you can see and hear the audience MST3K-style -- camcorded new releases account for an estimated 90-percent of the world's pirated movies.
I never understood the reason that people buy camcorded copies, even at only $5 each. My one and only curiosity was seven years ago, when I watched a bootleg VHS copy of Mystery Men. It was dark and the sound was horrible. To this day I still don't know what is going on in that movie. I've heard the worst is with subtitled films, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but isn't the attraction of that film the visuals, anyway? I can only understand people getting bootlegs of comedies, which tend not to contain remarkable cinematography or special effects.
So even though I think Glickman has been going overboard with his anti-piracy campaign, I'm pretty happy that these two piracy rings will be put away (like most criminal enterprises, though, another two groups will likely pop up in their place). Nobody should ever watch a movie in such bad shape. Sure we all have reasons for why we hate the theaters, but the movies really do look so much better on the big screen. At least wait three months for the DVD if you're that cheap. But for the sake of cinema, please don't waste your time with camcorded versions. ...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-30-2006 @ 12:38PM
Tush said...
I read in the newspaper that these groups were responsible for "13 Billion Dollars" loss to the movie industry. But that means they assume that everyone who bought a pirated copy would have paid full-price for the same move... doesn't make any sense.
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6-30-2006 @ 12:51PM
Elrond Hobbert said...
13 people is "half" the piracy in the U.S.?! 2 questions: Which crack pipe do they smoke at MPAA and how can I hit it?
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6-30-2006 @ 12:54PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Elrond,
Not half the pirates, but "responsible for" half the piracy in the US.
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6-30-2006 @ 1:14PM
Cath said...
It may not seem like much to pudboys, but when my crappy old car was stolen, it felt just as lousy as if that car had been a new one, and probably worse. But most people think, hey, the insurance company will pay, so big deal, it only hurts big corporations. In reality, I was the only one to lose. It's time we started thinking about the effect of piracy on artists, who are the ones hurt in all this. And the fact that piracy is no different than any other kind of petty criminal activity.
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6-30-2006 @ 1:43PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Nobody ever believes that people in Hollywood are hurt by piracy, though, because we're all still shown the wealth and fame lifestyle. And as for the laborers, are they really losing money? They charge more and movies cost more now than ever. I know that studios are more reluctant to raise newer stars' salaries these days, but nobody is really worth $20 million anyway.
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6-30-2006 @ 6:03PM
Adam said...
Stealing from rich people and corporations isn't as unethical as stealing from poor people, but its still stealing and still wrong.
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7-01-2006 @ 12:51AM
Gilbert Davis said...
Ah yes, I remember the day the Cali Crime Lords were taken down and that was the day we won the war on drugs. A great day indeed, those guys were responsible for maybe half the cocaine traffic and when they were put in prison that was like the end of all that crime. Just like here with those 13 devils who camcorded movies. Yes indeed, nothing left here but the wrap up victory party. But seriously, as long as it's a working business model and somebody can make a few bucks selling five dollar camcorder movies there will still be camcorder bootleg movies to buy whereever it is that people buy those at. Meanwhile, there are still Superman bootleg videos to be had online right now. Must have been put online by that other 13 guys out there who haven't been caught. Why anybody would want to see that movie other than a overwhelming susceptability to hype I have no idea.
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7-01-2006 @ 11:46AM
Razib said...
Thank you Christopher for your nice article. In many parts of Asia, all the latest movies are this type of camcordered movies and their sound quality and picture is horrible. After continuing for few months I lost my interest. Now days, I watch movies only in HBO channel.
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7-01-2006 @ 8:33PM
Eugene said...
Theft is theft, no doubt about that. But what about the inflated salaries for the actors and producers, that come out of the $10 ticket at the theatre? What about all the middlemen who take a cut as "business as usual"?
If movie productions actually paid the hard working grips, lighting people, makeup artists, visual fx personnel and editors what they are truly worth, then I'd feel stronger about anti-piracy efforts.
But when all I hear is overpaid money counters whining about their bonuses, piracy seems like sour grapes. The whole business is not about art, ethics or expression... it's about money. Share the wealth internally and more consumers will have reason to care.
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