Slashdot Mirror
Napster: The Movie
Joey Patterson writes "Looks like the story of Napster founder Shawn Fanning is headed to the small screen. CNET News.com reports that Fanning has signed a deal with MTV to turn his life story into a movie, which will focus on his personal saga during Napster's rise and fall. There's no word yet on who the cast will be (although Fanning may play himself), but Alex Winter (who played Bill in the "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" movies) will write (and possibly direct) the film."
I hate those MTV "this is how you should live" lifestyle movies/"shows"...I have a feeling this is gonna be another one of those teen cult movies about computers which will get it all wrong anyway... Hehe, wonder how Fanning will feel about this movie being pirated on the net? (which it probably will be)
The Welkin: Online Music Reviews
What complicates matters is that the movie is being aired on MTV. If it was aired on a non-music network, we could all imagine that the point of view would be to support the "hurting" music/media industry. But what will MTV do? Half of their success is based on music that is created by the music industry. The other half is based on those who listen to the music, most of them opposed to the RIAA. It would be great if MTV could find a middle ground, explain the situation, and let the viewer decide who is right or wrong, hero or enemy.
Instant Karma's gonna get you - John Lennon
Jack Osbourne is way to fat to play him.
Yes.. it's a very dramatic story. Kid has idea. Kid drops out of school to pursue idea. Evil Corporation realizes that kid's idea is allowing infringment on copywritten material. Evil Corporation crushes kid. Kid become folk hero.
So.. what's the huge deal about this? The kid didn't save any lives. He didn't revolutionize anything. He didn't improve the standard of living for anyone. He didn't create anything that had an impact on the majority of Americans. No.. he wrote some software that pissed off the wrong people.
What does it say about America when she has to find her hero's in the realm of corporate business? Perhaps she should take a look for her real hero's. Those people that actually affect the bottom line of all the people around them?
-CodeTrap (I AM CANADIAN!)
CodeTrap (www.codetrap.net)
Aren't they controlled/owned by the XXIA?
Hold on a sec, wouldn't this movie sale the point of Napster == EVIL, XXIA is the savior?
If the XXIA can't look good then just make Napster look worse, oldest trick in the book.
Effectively the a front for the music industry (which I personally hold responsible for showing us the worst of what it has to sell) is producing a film about someone utterly demonized by the RIAA. Irony so thick that you could hammer it into a horseshoe.
So how does MTV/Alex Winter portray Shawn? Good guy? Bad guy? Misunderstood genius? Or some horrible crap where Shawn starts out as a devil-may-care music pirate, but sees the shining light of reason, in the angelic form of Hilary B. Rosen (descending from Heaven with a subpoena in her hand), and returns to the light, to take his seat to the right of Bertelsmann AG and expound on the virtues of IP and clamping all possible evil-doers in the irons of DRM.
Slated for 2003-2004 season relsease, I don't expect much in the way of special effects (so Hilary will probably just have to descend on visible wires.)
Last, the burning question on everyones mind: Will it fend off the Simpsons for holiday audiences?
Soon to appear in P2P everywhere... well, maybe not.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
MTV is sponsoring movies now? Trying to turn into an HBO?
I remember when they used to show videos. All day long.