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If you happen to already be of the opinion that Michael Moore is not the lovable man of the people he appears to be, then this news probably won't be changing your feelings about him anytime soon. One month after Moore offered up free downloads of his latest documentary, Slacker Uprising, Torrent Freak reports that "In a letter dated September 25th, lawyers representing Westside Productions LLC, owner of the Slacker Uprising copyright sprang into action, demanding the removal of a torrent linking to the movie from any and all international sites."

Moore's latest was compiled of footage from his recent college tour -- a tour in which he traveled to colleges in the so-called 'swing states' to speak to students in an attempt to energize young voters. The film is a re-edited version of Moore's 2007 doc, Captain Mike Across America, which screened at TIFF in '07 to lukewarm reviews. Moore initially said the reason behind the free download was both a reward to fans who have supported him over the years, as well as a way to get out his message prior to the upcoming presidential election.

The download was offered only to those living in the US and Canada, but it didn't take long for the film to start popping up on numerous torrent sites outside of North America. Moore's lawyers inexplicably sent their letter to the DNS service (easyDNS) of one of the international sites pirating the flick, which is not required to comply with US law. A co-founder of easyDNS responded to Moore's lawyers with the following: "...Anybody with half a clue knows the net doesn't work like that. In any case, I've sent them our standard 'we're not the web host, we're just the lowly DNS service', but I did point out this seeming contradiction in Michael Moore's message vs. his lawyer's actions."

So while Moore may have every right to control how his film is distributed, maybe someone should have explained that old saying about the internet and pee in a pool.

So apparently Ms. Tara Reid has a new horror flick called Incubus, and you won't find it in theaters, on TV, or scattered amongst the DVD stacks. Nope, the only way to enjoy the flick, as explained last month by Ms. Kimmy V., is by downloading it from AOL Red, which I'm told is AOL's teen-centric department -- although someone oughtta tell the Red folks that Tara Reid is as much of a draw to teenagers as Ruth Buzzi is a draw to teenagers.

Directed by first-timer Anya Camilleri and written by also-newcomer Gary Humphreys, Incubus is about a group of teens (one of whom is played by Reid, giggle) who run afoul of a psychopath who has the power to control their dreams. Wow, that's completely unique. I've never heard of a horror series in which a bunch of teenagers are horrified and harrassed by a psycho with dream-powers!

Previously known as Heart Stopper, and then Nightmares and Pulse, Incubus debuts today on the AOL Red network. The price is $3.99 for a rental and $7.99 for a purchase. Interested parties may want to check out the trailer and/or the press release before parting with their cash, but hey, if Incubus is even half as hilarious as Tara Reid's last horror flick, I'd say that's $3.49 VERY well spent!

[Thanks to Movie City News for the tip. It gave me a hearty chuckle indeed.]

What's the best way to give your own flagging video distribution a shot in the arm? Buy the most popular one on the planet. Google announced today that it was buying the popular online video sharing service YouTube for a cool $1.65 billion dollars in stock -- really nice payday for a company that hasn't even turned two yet.

YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the planet, breaking into the top ten with sites like Yahoo, MySpace, and of course -- Google. Earlier this summer, it was reported that YouTube was serving upwards of 100 million videos a day, with 65,000 new ones uploaded by users every day. That number will surely climb as they have more money and server space available to them through Google. Google's own GoogleVideo service tried to compete with YouTube, adopting a similar look and feel, but they never could match the popularity of the upstart company. If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em.

Now, why should movie lovers pay attention? With the announcements of both Apple's iTunes movies, and Amazon's Unbox services, mainstream movie distribution on the web has become something to start thinking seriously about -- ya know, it's not just speculation around the water cooler anymore. While there are other sites on the web that offer movie downloads, both Apple and Amazon have been the first mainstream sites to offer them in an easy-to-understand and affordable format. Google seems to be setting the stage for their own effort in the same arena.

According to yesterday's press releases, the next step in the increasingly warm relationship between BitTorrent and major movie studios (things got better last fall when BitTorrent agreed to take down links to films offered for illegal download) is here: starting sometime this summer, Warner Brothers will offer both TV shows and movies for download via BitTorrent. In a statement that reflects a surprisingly clear-eyed understand of the possible effects of such a move, Kevin Tsujihara, president of WB Home Entertainment, made it clear that the company doesn't see the agreement as something that will end illegal downloading. (Good thinking, guys.) Said Tsujihara, "If we can convert [five], 10, 15 percent of the peer-to-peer users that have been obtaining our product from illegitimate sources to becoming legitimate buyers of our product, that has the potential of a huge impact on our industry and our economics."

As you might expect, however, there are details aplenty to piss off even those who like the concept, starting with the fact that, though the files will be burnable onto DVD, the resulting discs will be unplayable on all but the computer that did the initial download. Additionally, movies are likely to cost about the same as they would on DVD -- but, one assumes, without the online discounts that are offered by virtually every store these days.

BitTorrent users, what do you think? Are you interested? Could the launch of this system really be a major change in the way films are (legally) distributed, or is it just more evidence that Hollywood doesn't get it?

[via Digg]

Though Amazon reps are still refusing to comment, the unending rumors about their involvement in a possible rival to iTunes turned into news yesterday, when Reuters reported that the company is "in advanced talks with several major Hollywood studios about creating a service that allows consumers to download and copy movies and television programs." The understanding is that the studios involved are Universal, Paramount, and Warner Brothers, and that all three are "enthusiastic" about an agreement, which could come soon. That said, however, it's by no means a done deal.

While the news of a major tech company jumping (maybe) into the movie downloading business would be noteworthy on its own, the fact that the company is Amazon - a retailer of frightening ubiquity - gives the report a completely different scope. Instead of just tech savvy kids doing the downloading (like they do now), Amazon offering the service creates the possibility of middle-American grandparents one-clicking their ways to laptops full of movies. While I'm not sure if this is cool or depressing, it's an image of undeniable power, and yet another sign of how much tech has changed the film industry over the past 10-15 years.

Sure, Hollywood is doing cartwheels trying to stop piracy of movies, shutting down certain internet sites and fining those who help piracy live on, but you can still download movies legally, and for free! That is, movies that are now in the public domain and freely available to redistribute. Public Domain Torrents has some pretty cool titles, such as Metropolis and Night of the Living Dead, while you can also choose to visit the Internet Archive: Feature Films site to browse a few more, like Nosferatu and Dressed To Kill. Not too shabby at all.

[via Lifehacker]