The Hot Blog

Yeah, uh... Best to just stick with responding in the comments after all.

Dave,

Aren't you forgetting about the early workprint of "Gangs of New York" that you and Jeff Wells looked at? And actually as I google Dave Poland & "Gangs of New York", here is your own words (dated June 13, 2007 10:48PM on the Hot Blog) on your history with leaks and bootlegs.

"I have always bought a few bootlegs whenever they are offered. With piracy a major issue, I need to know as a journalist what is out there. I have never passed along bootlegs. And I have always offered the copies to the studios. Some have taken me up on it.

One story, for instance, was that Dark Water and Soul Plane were being sold in NY. As it turned out, Dark Water had the Jennifer Connelly cover art and the Asian film on the DVD. Soul Plane was real and I experienced the studio, MGM, first amused (calling it their "sneak screening campaign") and later blaming the failure of the film on the leak. Both were valid news, as far as I am concerned.

I have reviewed off a bootleg three times in my career. The first was off a VCD of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that I saw in China. I saw the movie on screen many times after that and wrote more. That was 7 years ago.

The second was 5 years ago with Spider-Man. I was on the way outs with the studio because of having reported something accurately that they then had to publicly back away from. But still, it was stupid to do and I regret it.

The third was Hero, which was sitting on the Miramax shelf for almost a year when I got a copy real Asian release DVD. But The Weinsteins were raising bloody hell about the imposition on their turf. And I wrote about the movie because I was not sure whether the great film would EVER get released here. (See: The less great but more abused Shaolin Soccer) I would still do that if the situation occured. The was no piracy, only a region code violation.

I have reported based on details of a bootleg 5 times. Two were mentioned above. One was the early cut of Gangs of New York and I still think that was a story of importance, given the trouble on that movie. The second was Dawn of the Dead, in which I wrote about enjoying the audience reactions while watching the film. The third was Hostel II.

I'm pretty sure that's it. Maybe someone will remember another occurance. "

To quote Dellamorte about my misgivings with Dave's review of the workprint of "Gangs of New York"...

"Well, by David's logic it would be okay for him to review said videotaped screening, if he felt it was a news story. (dated June 14, 2007 05:37 PM)"

Or in other words, Dave, what makes your review of the Gangs workprint any different than the people who downloaded and reviewed the Wolverine workprint? Weren't you both in possession of stolen property?

Mutiny City News used to review bootlegs...: http://mutinycompany.com/mcn/bootleg1.mov

Sigh...

David, your 'ironic' comment from section #3 may have been correct, and thus (arguably) 'ironic', two or three years ago, but I'm times have changed (in terms of quantity) and they were never comparable in terms of content relative to Lex. And I don't appreciate your persistent and narrow-minded grudge-holding.

"It is a well-established thesis in the industry - though it is possible that it is changing over time - that it is people in urban centers and predominantly less well-off people who are both willing to buy these discs in this country and who are willing to embrace the savings on these discs and overlook the poor quality."

well established by whom?...is there a link to something that can explain just who is 'establishing' this?...where did you read/learn this info?...

and, fwiw, you do occasionally just make stuff up and hope it'll slide (your comment, last year, about doug henning dying of aids being the most loathsome and first to come to mind).....

"a well established thesis" but again, with no actual data or metrics.

and for that matter, what is more prevalent, bad dvd bootlegs on the street that cost cash, or free downloads on the internet?

there are no actual metrics for this because it's very difficult to track peer to peer sharing.

and i'm telling you the studios just don't get it yet. teenage kids and techie adults would rather just download the perfect dvd copy or even watch a stream of it than, well, pay for it if they can. the problem isn't so much access, as a generational attitude that content is free... or not even physical.

you actually have early adopters who don't want a physical product (blu ray)... which i think is insane.

now the reason why bootlegging doesn't effect the theatrical so much is because of that desire to take part on friday nights on cultural events. that's the reason people go to live concerts and movies and always will... BUT.

in an industry where revenue is supposed to be really generated on DVD...

or even worse, slightly disposable and not worth much effort. when you shrink a MOVIE and put it on an iPod screen willingly, you're saying that your content is worth viewing at the size of a cellphone screen. that it doesn't deserve to even be seen in theaters.

add this to broadband's ubiquity, and you have conditions for a perfect storm of piracy.

the studios as you observed have flubbed it. they should've stuck with rental windows and high rental prices. but they got ten years of growth at the expense of 100 years of people thinking movies had evocative power.

Djiggs - If a studio owns a movie, sits on it while it's been theatrically released and now available on DVD in other regions, it's fair game. They made a business choice to acquire the property and then sit on it, mainly as a tactic towards another company and not out of the movie's interest. This occurs all the time with horror titles, such as The Host. It's a stupid game to play in a global economy which is why we're seeing new international legislation that will outlaw region-free players and the legal purchasing of overseas DVD's.

Re: Bootlegs. When people want knock-off designer fashion, they go to the city. It used to be the same way with bootlegs, but college students with T1 lines eliminated the middle-man. Dave's premise is right because the only group still bothering to burn and package boots are connected to the Asian market.

Thanks for clarifying on the cost per film comment which I believe was mine.

The fact remains however that the majors are slimming their production slates to focus on films deemed to have higher box office and ancillary revenue and profit potential. Good point that cost control on big budgets is in vogue and the elimination of small budgets will mean the MPAA numbers may not reflect the cost control. But I do wonder about lack of diversity in slates as it relates to whether it will actually help stabilize margins at higher and more consistent levels. Is there really any evidence of ability to consistently produce profitable product besides Pixar? In other words, won't cutting back to larger films only actually lead to more volatility in results, especially after year one when the budgets are lapped?

Martin S,

I have no problem with reviewing movies that have not premiered in our region i.e. Shaolin Soccer or Hero. My qualm with Dave is when he is on his moral high horse about AICN, Friedman, and others doing reviews on workprints, leaks, and test screenings when he did this same behavior with Jeff Wells on Gangs of New York before it was even released.

Martin S,

I do not have a problem with reviewing movies that had their premieres out of region such as Hero or Shaolin Soccer. My qualm with Dave has been with him getting on his moral high horse and looking down on AICN, Friedman, and others who review leaks, bootlegs, and test screenings ...even though he did this same behavior along with Jeff Wells on Gangs of New York before it was even released.

Sorry about the double post.

Someone once made the analogy that it's like reviewing a novel by standing over the author's shoulder as he proofreads it. Why would anyone want to see something before it's completed? It's nuts.

Oh please. These bootlegs are being BOUGHT, not ripped or downloaded, BUT BOUGHT by the ethnic and socio-economic classes that David mentions, for the most part. Period. You don't need hard empirical data. Walk on Canal Street, or St. Catherine Street, or Younge Street, or downtown LA.

Let's all relax with the high-minded PC bullshit. David, you don't have to preface every single point you make by mentioning how white people commit the same crimes, how the penal system in this country works, or what % dominates urban centers.

Everyone needs to call it like it is already.

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