Folks, we are coming into a very interesting, yet dangerous period on the Internet.
Why interesting? Why dangerous? Well, for a long time the Internet has been a free state, where one could get away with an awful lot, but things are beginning to happen which will force the law to come down hard on the Internet.
For quite some time now the Music industry has been fighting the proliferation of pirated music on the Internet. The Games industry has also been under fire as advanced copies of games leaked out into the nether of the Internet. Now... it’s Film’s turn.
Recently, for those people inclined to search them out, Hollywood films have been being digitized and put onto the Internet in giant 200 to 900 megabyte files and posted in the newsgroups. Everything from MATRIX to PAYBACK.... from MOV files to Real Video...
No degeneration in the copying process... no fees... It is the beginning of perfect worldwide piracy, and it’s been a quiet thing. A soft spoken thing. The sort of information that people whisper about lest some Federal Government or another swoop down and pluck them from the saftey of their world.
I’ve been grappling with how to deal with this for months. Knowing full well, that the issue would most likely explode when STAR WARS EPISODE ONE found it’s way online.
That happened yesterday..... 9 days after it was released in the U.S. I haven’t seen it because my modem is simply WAY to slow to download files that big. I have problems downloading a 23 megabyte IRON GIANT trailer, so I wouldn’t even begin to try anything bigger...
However, with Cable modems and ASDL lines.... well.... ‘All too easy...” And you can bet that today thousands are beginning to download and forward to every friend on the planet this movie.
My policy thus far has been to ignore the problem, but after a series of days and days of talking with Robogeek, Moriarty and various other folks whom I listen to... I decided to no longer stay mute on the subject matter.
This is... Too Important. It has to do with Film and the Internet... Two fields that I am very close to, probably as much so as any other one person can be. If I don’t comment on it, if I don’t pull my head out of the ostrich hole I buried it, then I couldn’t live with myself.
There are a lot of fun and games on line. A sense that there are no rules... And you know... I’m a part of that. We dart on either side of our various lines as often and freely as we want to, but that line may begin having teeth if we don’t begin policing ourselves a bit.
I’m sure LUCASFILM’s reaction to what happened yesterday will be to put the entire ordeal into the hands of the FBI. They’ll begin tracing the ISP identity of the poster. Inevitably it’ll find it’s way back to University or an Internet Cafe somewhere in the greater U.S. or Canada. They’ll begin questioning people as to who uses these computers. Who was here at ‘blah blah time on blah blah day’ and they’ll have leads... But you know what... They probably won’t catch the guy or gal. Why? Because when dealing with newsgroup postings, it’s fairly easy to cover your tracks.
Instead Hollywood and other entertainment industries are most likely going to campaign political types into creating laws that may do away with Newsgroups... or Multimedia Binary newsgroups... or FTP servers and even Websites... Which would be a shame.
There’s quite a bit of good that is done in those groups and places, trading of shareware, conversations about secret levels to games, screen captures of favorite scenes... It really is a wonderfully unique trading ground.
So what to do?
I’m not entirely sure myself. If I did know, I’d probably form an advising corporation to these industries and make a gigantic fortune in anti-piracy tactics... But you know what... I don’t want that.
I also don’t want long scanning procedures before going into movies. I don’t want theaters to have to buy metal detectors and hire security to pat people down, which will amount to higher ticket prices. Not to mention the "Please arrive 30 minutes prior to the showing of your feature presentation to go through security." which would inevitably hinder our mutual enjoyment.
But where my real fears come in is at the Independent Film level. I love indies. But the ability for ‘regular folks’ to post entire independents online. What distributor would buy a movie that could be downloaded for free anywhere in the cyberworld? Sure, the idea of posting a really cool indie film might seem noble. You know, to spread the word.... BUT indies rarely make money as it is, if this continues... if this becomes more and more popular... Then it poses the first real threat to filmmaking, not just indie but big films as well.
Television, color television, cable.... They were nothing. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING TRULY BAD. For example, I love a movie called MAN OF THE CENTURY that I saw at SXSW, if a buzz gets started online, and somewhere someone gets a copy to put online free of charge.... Well then, why would FINE LINE pick it up?
Sure.... For now the problem is a pimple on the great ass of the world, but it will fester and become infected... spreading a pain in the ass like nothing the industry has ever felt before. Right now, few people have the speed to download these files, but over the next few years... That barrier will become an obsticle of the past.
To combat it, studios will have to release films worldwide the very same day, just as THE PRINCE OF EGYPT did. That’ll raise costs of marketing and prints (until Lucas’ digital projection comes in.) Costs will be raised, profits will get smaller.... Windows of release will shrink.
More than anything I have seen or heard this is the danger to film that will hurt most. Ultimately someone had to BUY those illegal tapes, but here it’s just a click... no costs. Complete impulse and curiosity.
Meanwhile what does Lucasfilm do now? Well, if I were running Lucasfilm, I’d engage in the following plan of attack. This is something that Robogeek and I came up with earlier today, and ya know... It might very well be the most effective route to follow. You know the saying, “The more you tighten your grip...” Well, by playing the victim and acting all hurt and wounded.... Well, it looks ridiculous. Ultimately everyone and their brother knows Lucas is gonna pull in over a billion in various revenues from this dang movie. So boo friggin hoo.
BUT, as Robogeek says, “They should go on the attack!” Not with the F.B.I., but with their fan base. Set up a special area of their www.starwars.com website that would be an interactive area dedicated to combating piracy. Make Boba Fett the trademarked bounty hunter out to bring in the foes of Lucasfilm. Have prizes, real simple ones like an Official Boba Fett Bounty Hunter certificate for informing on URLS and locations of the offending movie file, score file, etc. Then for an actual tip that leads to a conviction of the people that say... Stole those prints, or that mass produced illegal videotapes.... The chance to play a Mandalorian Warrior in the next Star Wars film.
Use the fans George. All you need do is make it a game and they’ll hunt down the scum and villainy that sought to cause the fall of your Republic.
Ultimately this piracy will have to be dealt with at a far more serious level. Something will have to be done. At one level it’s cool to the fans to be able to download such things.... But this fun is actually potential cracks in the foundation of Hollywood and the film industry as a whole and even the fan in me gets a bit afraid.
I could care less if some executive loses some money, but we’re talking about the viability of an industry that we love. Films. This is a dangerous time. A scary time. And an extremely volatile issue. What will Hollywood do? What do you suggest, let’s talk about it.....
