ROTS leakers charged

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-09-28 05:46pm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4289030.stm

Eight people have been charged by US authorities with the illegal online release of the final Star Wars film before it appeared in cinemas.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was leaked onto the internet the day before the film's worldwide release in May.

Documents from the court in Los Angeles allege the copy was taken from a post-production facility in California, where one of the defendants worked.

...

Good for them. I have never liked the idea of charging kids or their parents for downloading pirate movies and music, but the people who work in trusted positions and leak this information should be nailed to the wall.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2005-09-28 06:05pm

Quite. It's simply breach of contract (I assume) regardless of any issues to do with the ethics (or lack thereof) related to online piracy.

Though I doubt, in all fairness, that watching a pirate copy would put many people off going to see the film in the cinema, but maybe that's just me.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 2005-09-28 07:13pm

Well if it's a crappy movie, it might put them off (ex: "why would I want to waste my money on THIS??").

Then again, perhaps such people would download a movie precisely for this reason. Who knows. Generally these companies assume that pirated copy = lost sale.

Quadlok · Post by **Quadlok** » 2005-09-28 10:03pm

Kurgan wrote:Well if it's a crappy movie, it might put them off (ex: "why would I want to waste my money on THIS??").

I don't know, I watched "Matrix: Reloaded" in theaters even after seeing it online.

These guys are fucked twice over. First because they're charged under that law most of us know as the FBI warning, and then, after paying a bigass fine and spending some quality time in prison, Lucasfilm is going to nail their ass to the wall in civil court.

Spetulhu · Post by **Spetulhu** » 2005-09-29 12:44am

Quadlok wrote:
Kurgan wrote:Well if it's a crappy movie, it might put them off (ex: "why would I want to waste my money on THIS??").
I don't know, I watched "Matrix: Reloaded" in theaters even after seeing it online.

But how about Blade II? It was crappy enough to demand a sixpack of beer to look good, but the beer ran out...

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2005-09-29 01:08am

Spetulhu wrote:
Quadlok wrote:
Kurgan wrote:Well if it's a crappy movie, it might put them off (ex: "why would I want to waste my money on THIS??").
I don't know, I watched "Matrix: Reloaded" in theaters even after seeing it online.
But how about Blade II? It was crappy enough to demand a sixpack of beer to look good, but the beer ran out...

Blade II wasn't that bad. It certainly wasn't high art, and wasn't even as good as the first movie, but it was still quite watchable. Blade III, on the other hand... Yech.

Dorenn Stark · Post by **Dorenn Stark** » 2005-10-01 07:39pm

I am forced to agree. Blade 3 was a joke.

Solauren · Post by **Solauren** » 2005-10-01 11:35pm

Back on topic.

Yeah, it's one thing to makea cam copy at the theater. Fine, people are going to do it. Whatever.

However, leaking it from where you work?

Nope, sorry, that's serious bad.

And actually, there fucked 3 ways
Criminal: fine + jail
Civil: Whatever LucasArt's lawyers decide to do to them
Personal: They'll never get a decent job again