Hey Ira/Mopo: OK, first of all, let me start with: camcorded copies of movies are worthless.... No one downloads them (why would they, when there's a perfect, hi-res copy from some guy at the mastering house). Remember film is 24fps, video is 29.97... So, while camcorded movies make up the vast majority of the bootleg copies out there - no one actually watches them. They might make up 90% of all files, but only 10% of viewership (I'm guessing). So, those numbers are vastly over-stated and mostly useless for determining actual piracy.
Two. Camcorded copies are also useless because they, by definition, can't come out until after the movie has already opened - by which time, better copies are often more widely available. So, while you can say that so many camcorded copies came from somewhere, does it really matter - when almost all of the copyright-infringers are watching a perfect dvd copy of a screener instead? We both work in the film industry, so we know that the vast majority of piracy usually traces back to people who worked on the film. Which is the only reason piracy might be higher in Canada (we produce about 30 or 40% of US television/movies). But, don't you find it odd how the MPAA's completely missed Asia in those statistics??? Yeah, all the world's piracy comes from Canada and Russia! China doesn't exist. Neither does Vietnam - or the Phillipines - or Singapore - or the United States for that matter! How can they keep a straight face when they say things like that? I won't even go into how the MPAA considers every person who downloads a movie as taking money off of their bottom line (even if they had no intention of paying for that movie - and wouldn't have watched it otherwise). And, they like count a peasant in Kuala Lampur that downloads a movie the same as a New Yorker (even though the peasant would never pay $15 to buy that movie). The MPAA will have to smarten up, and embrace new technology, or they'll go the way of the dodo (like the music industry)... There's also a term called 'fair use' - something the MPAA doesn't believe exists. So, don't forget, you are legally allowed to 'pirate' any movie you own/rent/watch (although those stupid laws you keep passing in the States may have completely eroded this right - it still exists in other countries). How many of those MPAA statistics include LEGAL, fair-use copies of the material? Like always, these issues are far more complex than they are made out by the lobbyists. And, nowadays, you have to question everything cause we can't trust the media to tell us the truth (or even to question the liars about their lies). Remember, if the MPAA had their way, we wouldn't have VHS, recordable DVDs, or even the internet. They are the most dishonest and morally-bankrupt organization outside of the Bush Administration... I wouldn't trust ANYTHING they said without iron-clad proof. Cheers, Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Rubenstein, Ira To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 11:52 AM Subject: Re: [MOPO] MovieGoods? I can speak from first hand knowledge, from meetings directly with the technology companies that can look at a pirated copy and tell what theatre it came from based on information in the print, that it is very true. Canada and Russia are the two leading sources of a LARGE majority of illegal copies of movies worldwide. Both the ones sold on the street and distributed on the internet. Or you can say I am full of Sh*t too if you want. :) It is just a matter of time before the film industry goes through a radical transformation (ie Downsizing) like the music industry is doing now because of piracy. The only thing holding back the damage is Bandwidth and Hard Disk sizes. But in enough years, the bandwidth will be there to download a movie as fast and easy as a song today. And your disk drives in your homes will be large enough to hold THOUSANDS of copies. The libraries of the studios will become worthless and that is what keeps the doors open. It is the single biggest reason Dreamworks struggled and eventually went to Paramount. A studio can go through a down turn, they all do. But somewhere, sometime, someone is playing one of your 3000 films. Those $$ keep coming in and they keep the lights on. If you don't have a large enough library, you don't have the revenue. George Lucas is doing more TV because he said for the same amount of money he can create 100 episodes of TV STAR WARS for what it costs for one film. It is all about the library. So I am all for searches, stronger penalties, anything to keep our fingers in the leaking dam. But in a few years it won't matter. You are always going to have people with more time than money who will steal content. I hope I am wrong, but I see the tide coming and it isn't going to be pretty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bob Brooks Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 12:13 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [MOPO] MovieGoods? Hey, I just asked you to question the lies and you go right out and... Cause, that's another whopper from the MPAA. I go to a lot of preview/press-screenings here in Canada and the one thing most of them have in common: body searches, metal-detectors and night-vision goggles! Oh yeah, the night vision goggle thing started about 2 or 3 years ago up here. So, either Variety's WAY behind in their reporting - or the MPAA's full of shit and trying to push some sort of new anti-consumer legislation through Congress... Remember, these are the people who like to spout off statistics like such and such percent of piracy comes from such and such a place? Last I heard, if you added up all the percentages from all the countries on Earth, it comes out somewhere around 300% of all the world's piracy... They're also the people who prevent you from seeing any movie with thrusting in it. Cause, there's nothing on the entire planet more damaging to the human psyche than seeing two people having realistic-looking sex. They're openly sexist (on the other hand, at least they aren't racist anymore). They treat indie films considerably harsher than big-budget films. Etc... Cheers, Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: JEFF POTOKAR To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 11:19 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] MovieGoods? bob, film piracy is growing in canada, too, with people sneaking cameras into theaters, to videotape films... hence certain studios are NO LONGER choosing to preview there, prior to their wide release... this was reported in Variety a month or so ago... and as someone that works in post production here in los angeles, i say: correct move. i'd call this type of behaviour lawless and illegal, wouldn't you?!?!?. jeff On Jun 7, 2007, at 1:26 PM, Bob Brooks wrote: I'm sorry, only have a second to reply here, but wow.... Do all you Americans really believe that Canada is this lawless place, like the Wild West - but, with bad pharmaceuticals????? You people REALLY have to start questioning your leaders when they lie to you... Cheers, Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Susan Heim To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 10:33 AM Subject: Re: [MOPO] MovieGoods? Hey Tom, I'm sure it is because they are based in Canada. Most of the reproduction houses are in Europe, mainly France and Germany. It may be that the laws are hard to enforce on this issue out of the states. Many of my studio contacts say it's just too overwhelming. To be honest, while someone is making money off of their image, it is still their image advertising their movie that is being put out there. So, in a way it's millions of dollars in free publicity. Duplicating a video, DVD or CD to resell it is a different matter since those are primarily being produced for sale to the public to make a profit. Movie posters are not made for the public for sale or otherwise so the only money the studio is losing in that venture are the people that help themselves to originals at the studio, the printer or other vendors that utilize movie posters. In the end even those posters make it to a wall somewhere, again advertising that movie. Moviegoods makes their own line of reproductions and buys repros from other sources. I supply Moviegoods the frames they sell on their website and often they ship me the posters to install in the frames. They have a nice line of reproductions to movies all the way back to the silents and conveniently printed to 27x40, not some weird size like the ones that come out of Europe. That allows customers to swap posters in and out of a standard size movie poster frame. They are made on photographic paper and in no way would you confuse it for an original and they don't claim otherwise. I don't know what type of licensing agreement they have, if any. I'm sure most of these companies reproducing posters don't have licensing agreements. Portal does and I'm sure it irks them that they have to pay those fees when all these other companies are out there reproducing like crazy for no fees. Just guessing. Sue ----- Original Message ----- From: Tom A. Pennock To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2007 10:09 AM Subject: [MOPO] MovieGoods? How does the company MovieGoods get away with reproducing ALL those movie posters, lobby cards, EVERYTHING? Someone said it's because they are really based out of Canada. I would think legally royalties would have to be paid. These prints are not licenced like the Portal's and other were or are now. These are just run off with total disregard for the studio's and copyright holders. --Tom Pennock ---------------------------------------------------------------------- See what's free at AOL.com. 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