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Wolverine Film Leaked a Month Before Release

hansamurai writes "The FBI are investigating the leak of an almost finished copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine a month before the film's cinema release. The movie was reported to have been downloaded several hundred thousand times and has since been 'removed.' Viewers have called the movie incomplete, missing some special effects and music. Fox and the MPAA are still upset, though, but say the copy is forensically marked and can be traced to the leak. The film is due out May 1st in the United States, and the leaked copy is marked March 2nd."

464 comments

  1. I missed it? by furby076 · · Score: 1

    Damn I wanted a copy of it and to be honest I will still see it in theatres. Shame this leaked though.

    --

    I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    1. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yep, you missed it.

      For the first and only time, something that has "leaked" to the internet has been completely and utterly removed from it. You need to be quicker next time.

    2. Re:I missed it? by orkim · · Score: 5, Informative

      Then grab a torrent, such as:

      http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4816113/X-Men.Origins.Wolverine.2009.WORKPRiNT.XviD-NoRar

    3. Re:I missed it? by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're right about the rapidly declining quality of Hollywood's output. There's no real depth to anything recent. The old proven actors (like Star Trek and Star Wars) have become senile, uncaring, and devoid of soul at the hands of money-grubbers.

      The new crop of actors are cretinous, pretentious fuckwits who are chosen for their tits and their "real-life" drama which is as manufactured as their movies are. You know things are sad when Hollywood's releasing movies like "X-men 25: Because you'll see it Anyway" and "Direct to DVD 5: The theater is only for Booze and sex".

    4. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Grabbing a torrent from a public tracker isn't wise at the best of times, but for something like this it's crazy. The MPAA/FOX may very well have their eyes on those seeder and peer lists.

    5. Re:I missed it? by v1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The MPAA/FOX may very well have their eyes on those seeder and peer lists.

      I'll take anyone's bet to the otherwise. I have absolute confidence that all the peers in that torrent that have a flimsy ISP will get an email in a week.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    6. Re:I missed it? by RiotingPacifist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'd take my chances at not being the on in 60k they choose to sue.
      Seeders: 22425
      Leechers:36869
      total: 59294

      Infact that's a snapshot so you're probably closer to 1 in a million chance of getting sued, IF they choose to sue any of the seeders not just the leak!

      --
      IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
    7. Re:I missed it? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Well, I'd never seen a whole XXX or XXX 2 movie so I'd pass this one even if it was available in the browser or sent on TV ..

      And yeah, I speak about the super hero movies, though I tend to jump straight into the action in the other movies to ...

    8. Re:I missed it? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      So what?

    9. Re:I missed it? by HouseOfMisterE · · Score: 2, Funny

      There is nothing wrong with choosing someone for their tits.

    10. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      cough*Proxy*cough

    11. Re:I missed it? by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Damn I wanted a copy of it and to be honest I will still see it in theatres.

      I will never again willingly watch anything in a cinema so long as I live. Poor food, poor seats, poor video quality, and most of all poor company. The only advantage cinemas still retain over my living room is their sound systems, and frankly it's not worth the bother. I will wait for the Blu-Ray of any new film. It costs about as much as trip to the cinema anyway.

      And if the studio refuses to release in my region simultaneously with others, I'll download the film. Tough luck guys. I had the money in my hand, ready to give it to you, but you gave me the finger instead. So guess what I'm giving you.

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
    12. Re:I missed it? by Spazztastic · · Score: 3, Funny

      The MPAA/FOX may very well have their eyes on those seeder and peer lists.

      I'll take anyone's bet to the otherwise. I have absolute confidence that all the peers in that torrent that have a flimsy ISP will get an email in a week.

      Comcast stands their ground, right? Right!?

      /franticly loads up killdisk, shreds burned DVDs.

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    13. Re:I missed it? by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The new crop of actors are cretinous, pretentious fuckwits who are chosen for their tits and their "real-life" drama which is as manufactured as their movies are.

      I love to be the one to break this to you: the old crop of actors is primarily a bunch of cretinous, pretentious fuckwits who were chosen for their attractiveness to the public. (There are of course limited counterexamples.) Their "real-life" drama was as manufactured as their movies were. One seriously great example is Sean Connery, the favorite James Bond. SNL "Celebrity Jeopardy" -- it's funny because it's true!

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    14. Re:I missed it? by Spazztastic · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I will never again willingly watch anything in a cinema so long as I live. Poor food, poor seats,

      Sad but true. The seating is awful and is almost essential to the overall experience with the movie. My sister was all hyped for me to see The Dark Knight a the Franklin Institute's IMAX claiming it was the greatest. I've never sat in a movie seat that so closely resembled sitting coach in an airline in my life.

      The good news is some of the new theaters being built are catching on. I had the pleasure of going to new-ish AMC theater in Paramus, NJ (attached to the mall). It had lots of leg room, great video and sound. Hopefully this will set a trend and the designers will realize that cramming in one extra row and column isn't as important as the repeat customers to a comfortable theater.

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    15. Re:I missed it? by jebrew · · Score: 1

      No Alamo Drafthouse Cinema near you?

    16. Re:I missed it? by mea37 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      And they can only sue one because...?

    17. Re:I missed it? by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Informative

      We do Internet for hotels. (In room WiFi) We have about 75 hotels under monitoring. All of them hit bit torrent hard every single night and max out the pipe. We have only ever received 1 MPAA letter. And for the record, the majority of our hotel feeds are from ATT business class DSL or Comcast business Internet. (Also ATT MIS, Logix, Covad, CBeyond, Embarq, and a few others)

    18. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I very strongly suspected this myself... if one was inclined to download it, usenet would be a much better choice.

      In theory, of course.

    19. Re:I missed it? by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      I won't see it in theatres.

      I wouldn't download and watch it either.

      I'm feeling serverly burned out on Comic Book movies. I liked Iron Man, but have been nonplused by the other offerings in the past few years.

      What's the saturation point for these things?

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    20. Re:I missed it? by Theoboley · · Score: 2, Funny

      If it was removed from the interwebs, It is entirely possible this torrent may be set up by the MPAA/Fox to trap such seeders and peers...

      --
      Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
    21. Re:I missed it? by Cytric · · Score: 0

      Does it work for film the same as it does for TV shows? I thought if you distribute a copy prior to it's official release, it's now a punishable offense, and not just a civil suit.

    22. Re:I missed it? by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You're correct, but even though movie stars may or may not be pretentious fuckwits, the overall quality of acting is taking a nosedive. Back in the day acting had to be believable because it drove the plots much more than overuse of special effects did. Now, even the oldheads don't even need to really act, they can just lend their voices to mostly-convincing CGI replicas of themselves.

      Watching Natalie Portman or Halle Berry onscreen reminds me of Kelly Bundy in that episode of married with children where she tries host the weather segment on the local news station...their real-life acting ability is on par with an act of a dumb blonde with a blank stare. Holywood has no other choice but to go the Microsoft route and throw money at anybody willing to hype the thespian du jour.

      And about the recycling of sequels - Hollywood have run out of original ideas and are now strip-mining all of the money-making franchises they can, especially comics. There are plenty of good ideas out there which haven't been done ad nauseum, Watchmen being a good example.

    23. Re:I missed it? by steelfood · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Use Peerguardian 2 if you're that worried. It's like a condom for P2P.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    24. Re:I missed it? by santiagodraco · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's plenty of great actors and actresses around. The fact that there are a LOT more movies coming out might give the appearance of low quality, but, frankly, there were a lot of low quality movies "back in the day".

      As for actors being chosen for their "real life drama", come on. We live in a society of the most venomous fans I've ever seen. If an actor has real life drama it's more of a death knell than a sign of success to come.

    25. Re:I missed it? by bhunachchicken · · Score: 1

      I will wait for the Blu-Ray of any new film. It costs about as much as trip to the cinema anyway.

      I really want to know where you get new Blu-Ray films for £4 a go.

    26. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That only depends on the laws where you live. Some places it is technically legal to download this for personal use... as long as you don't upload it, and in some other places, they just don't care. The pub torrents are for those with impunity :P

    27. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      ...because they cannot count to two

    28. Re:I missed it? by gnick · · Score: 3, Funny

      Did you really just log into slashdot and shit-talk Natalie Portman? Really? Sure, she needed some polish back in The Professional and I cried after watching Star Wars: Episode I (and not because of the emotional scenes). But man, I could forgive Natalie for anything.

      That said, overall I agree. I keep trying to like Dollhouse but I just can't get past the acting... Movies recently (Watchmen excepted) have been just as painful.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    29. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Then you have not been to theatres here in Portland, Oregon. We have theatres that serve locally brewed beer and decent pizza. At least two serve whole meals.

      You can't generalize all theatres like you did.

    30. Re:I missed it? by Sancho · · Score: 1

      Every Drafthouse I've been in has had a crappy projector. Sure, it's got legroom and good food, but it loses out big-time on the quality of the film.

    31. Re:I missed it? by simonbas · · Score: 5, Funny

      We should all go see it in theaters so we would have proof that piracy encourages revenue.

    32. Re:I missed it? by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 1

      Did you really just log into slashdot and shit-talk Natalie Portman? Really? Sure, she needed some polish back in The Professional ...

      Whoa, that was Natalie Portman in The Professional? I never got to seeing that movie because I heard it was about a terrorist pedophile.

      Joking!

    33. Re:I missed it? by lymond01 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Each suit is an individual case and stands on its own merits and evidence. They probably don't have the time or money, or expect enough retribution, to sue 60,000 people, or even more than a handful.

    34. Re:I missed it? by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Here's what really cheeses me off about movie theaters.

      Yes, it's all nice that your video is being displayed in high-def on a 'digital screen' but the problem is that screen isn't digital at all, it's the projector that's digital and I *HATE* being able to see the goddamned pixels on the movie screen.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    35. Re:I missed it? by sexconker · · Score: 2, Funny

      Kelly: Winds are up to 30 moofs.
      TV producer: That's miles per hour, you idiot!

    36. Re:I missed it? by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

      If she isn't naked and petrified with a bowl of hot grits, Slashdotters are by and large not interested.

    37. Re:I missed it? by sexconker · · Score: 2, Funny

      OH NO!
      An EMAIL!

    38. Re:I missed it? by sukotto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bah, it's probably just the MPAA's new business model. They know the movie is a piece of crap that won't do well in the theatre... so instead they "leak" it then sue everyone that touches the torrent.

      (-1 cynical)

      --
      Come play free flash games on Kongregate!
    39. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You mean they'll have their eyes on the IPs of those seeders and peers... Those of us not physically at the street address of said IP are pretty much in the clear. Gotta love WEP.

    40. Re:I missed it? by lymond01 · · Score: 4, Informative

      You need to watch better movies. :-)

      Highlights of the past few years (for me):

      Dark Knight
      The Reader
      Slumdog Millionaire
      No Country for Old Men
      Serenity
      Pan's Labyrinth
      Love Actually

      Granted, not all of those are Hollywood films but most are. There are plenty of indie films that are likely way better than anything in that list. There was a vampire movie from Sweden, translation: Let the Right One In that had a bunch of hype as the greatest vampire film ever made. I saw it, but I guess my expectations were too high. I still think Fright Night is the best. :-)

    41. Re:I missed it? by Mishotaki · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is nothing wrong with choosing someone for their tits.

      except when it's to watch someone who has no acting talent for 2 hours straight without showing a single nipple...

    42. Re:I missed it? by Mishotaki · · Score: 1

      nah ask that guy that you hate at your job to download it for you then burn it on a CD/DVD for 2$ and destroy after watching... the FBI/MPAA won't have a real case against you.

    43. Re:I missed it? by DaveV1.0 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      In other words, your greed and selfishness override your morals and ethics.

      --
      There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
    44. Re:I missed it? by Tanktalus · · Score: 1

      I bet he takes a date. And pays for her, too. (Even if it is dear old mom.) That makes £8.

      And then a small popcorn and a small soda to share. That's another £12.

    45. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, I agree with everything your saying, save what you said about Natalie Portman. I happen to really like her. It helps that she is educated, delicious looking, and can rap, but really I think she is a good actress, too.

    46. Re:I missed it? by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      ...that's fine if you are a loner with no friends or family.

      For the rest of us, even the cost of a Bluray disc is less than the price of cinema admission.

      Normal prices are always going up. Matinees have nearly disappeared.

      Forget it if you get the munchies or get thirsty.

      This isn't even getting into the previously addressed "quality" issues.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    47. Re:I missed it? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Not to nitpick, but the MPAA/RIAA doen't sue downloaders (despite the bad reporting of the media. They only sue uploaders. So you're not 1 out of 59,294 to them. You're 1 in 22,425.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    48. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kelly: "...here in Chick - a - go..."
      TV producer: "CHICAGO!"

    49. Re:I missed it? by Jurily · · Score: 1

      Dark Knight

      Am I the only one who spent the boat scene thinking "why the hell did they not push the button yet?"?

      I don't know about you guys, but in that situation, I'd pushed that button as fast as I possibly can, and then argue about it, expecting the same reaction from the other side as well.

    50. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    51. Re:I missed it? by kimvette · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yeah, but like condoms, Peerguardian is not 100% effective.

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    52. Re:I missed it? by internerdj · · Score: 1

      That's what cheeses you off? How about I just paid $20 to take my wife out rather than stay in and the guy two rows forward is on his phone the whole time, the teens in the seat next to you are blabbering about how the lead actor is so dreamy, the guy behind you is kicking your seat, and the idiot three rows back is throwing popcorn at someone in front of you and isn't a good shot. And the manager of the "upscale" theater doesn't care any more than the manager of any other theater in town. The only plus is they clean the seats between performances so you aren't sitting in who knows what to save $3.

    53. Re:I missed it? by blincoln · · Score: 1

      I really want to know where you get new Blu-Ray films for £4 a go.

      Here in the US, evening tickets to the cinema are $12-$15 each. Blu-Ray discs tend to be $30. So if you're taking someone with you, and/or have to pay for parking, and/or plan on getting something at the concession stand, then yes, it's basically a wash with just buying it on Blu-Ray and having it to watch as many times as you want.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    54. Re:I missed it? by kimvette · · Score: 1

      Amen. Why go to a cinema where there is always some wank shouting at the movie ("Oh no you di'n't!"), the movie is out of focus (despite the pre-movie advertisements being in PERFECT focus), and put up with sticky floors and armrests when you can wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray disc and watch it sitting 5.5' from a 46" TV that is always in perfect focus?

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    55. Re:I missed it? by skuzzlebutt · · Score: 3, Funny

      There is nothing wrong with choosing someone for their tits.

      Wait, I skipped a couple of posts. Are we still talking about Obama?

      --
      My debut novel AMITY now available: http://jeremydbrooks.c
    56. Re:I missed it? by iluvcapra · · Score: 3, Insightful

      fuckwits, the overall quality of acting is taking a nosedive

      Did you even see Michael Clayton? Or Little Children, or In the Bedroom, or The Queen, or Doubt.

      Guess what, dude. The acting in the original Star Wars and the first three Treks is pretty bad, too; there's nothing exceptionally bad about newer films-- You're just remembering it through rose-colored glasses. Acting in CGI/scifi/action films has always been pretty "eh."

      Film has always been a prime actors medium, just not when acting against a green screen.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    57. Re:I missed it? by BobReturns · · Score: 1

      In that situation I'd have jumped off the boat and swum to safety. I don't know why none of them thought of that.

    58. Re:I missed it? by Krneki · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but like condoms, Peerguardian is not 100% effective.

      I bet you would skip occasional sex because condom does not give you enough security.

      --
      Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
    59. Re:I missed it? by RabidMoose · · Score: 1

      The difference here being that the Blu-Ray can be enjoyed by as many people as can fit in your living room, who can eat whatever food you manage to prepare, and drink whatever you choose to have on hand. Oh, and the movie starts exactly when you're ready for it to start, with the added benefit of not needing to search for a parking space on Friday nights.

      This, compared to a movie theater that charges up to $10/ticket, $6-10 for popcorn, that much again for a ridiculously over-sized drink (and only at specialty theaters can you get a fracking beer), with the added detriment of the movie starting whenever it best works into the theater's schedule. Of course, you can sneak in your own food/drinks (much easier in the winter when wearing a big poofy coat doesn't look odd), but the fact remains that this is against the rules, and the theater could toss you out if they felt like it.

      That said, the upfront cost of putting together a home theater to give a comparable viewing experience to a cineplex is not insignificant. I figure at least:
      $800-1,000 - Good quality HDTV, 40+ inches (size depending on viewing distance)
      $200-400 - Blu-Ray player
      $500+ - Audio setup, including speakers and receiver (much less than $500 and you're likely buying shit)
      $500+ - Good quality couch (possibly the most important component)
      ---------
      $2,000+ for initial setup. Of course, a lot of this is standard fare for a lot of living rooms as it is (who doesn't have a couch, or at least a giant beanbag sack thing?). It's also nice to have for playing video games and hosting parties, so there's a value-add.

      Contradicting myself, I do have to admit that there's no experience to match going to a midnight opening of a film with a good fanbase (Star Wars, Harry Potter, select superhero films, etc.)

    60. Re:I missed it? by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      The only difference is that the low quality movies now have a lot more money spent to publicize them, so you hear about them all over the place before you find out how crap they are.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    61. Re:I missed it? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Good God.  You must be the "Lowest Common Denomintor" that everyone talks about.  Making excuses for shit movies doesn't mean they aren't shit movies.  "Appearance of low quality"?????  You should go into politics.  You would be appreciated for your ability to make sounds, without actually saying anything.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    62. Re:I missed it? by Bert64 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because the cost involved in trying to track down and sue 60k users, many of whom will be in foreign countries or using isps who won't cooperate would just be stupid.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    63. Re:I missed it? by husker+shiznit · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not to nitpick, but the MPAA/RIAA doen't sue downloaders (despite the bad reporting of the media. They only sue uploaders. So you're not 1 out of 59,294 to them. You're 1 in 22,425.

      Except for the fact that leechers are also uploading the file as well. They just don't have a full copy yet. Try again.

    64. Re:I missed it? by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      Here in the US, evening tickets to the cinema are $12-$15 each

      Where the fuck do you live? I'm in the US, and where I live, evening tickets are $8 each. Matinee tickets are $5.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    65. Re:I missed it? by Macthorpe · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They're actually fixing this in a cinema near me - they have a screen that only over-18s can go in, regardless of the film.

      You'd be surprised how many morons are filtered out when you do that.

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    66. Re:I missed it? by iluvcapra · · Score: 3, Informative

      The fact that there are a LOT more movies coming out might give the appearance of low quality, but, frankly, there were a lot of low quality movies "back in the day".

      Fun fact- at the height of its output in 1934 or so, MGM was producing a feature film every week, with several simultaneous side units producing episodes of serials ever 5 days or so. All of the other studios had similar output -- even a small studio like Republic could shoot, cut and deliver a western in a matter of weeks; most of these films were average, and are forgotten. Have you any idea how many Wallace Beery boxing films there were? Or Charlie Chan features? There were like 12. You open up a fan magazine from the 30s and you can read about 40 films and you're lucky if you recognize 3 of them.

      There's always been gobs of product, and every year only a few of them rise to the top. The quality of feature motion pictures now is probably, in the mean, better I'd say, just because there's so much room now to get downscale stuff release on TV and cable.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    67. Re:I missed it? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Who the hell is Natalie Portman?

      Oh, never mind.  Not only do I not know, but I don't care.  There are millions of women trying to make a living based on their oversized artificial tits.........

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    68. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has anyone actually been sued for doing nothing but seeding a torrent after they've downloaded it? Every case I can find they've gone after the leak and that's it.

      Can someone post a link to the contrary?

    69. Re:I missed it? by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      If you can see the pixels on the screen, it's probably not "Digital Projection." Somebody's conning you... A 4k D5 has higher resolution than film grain.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    70. Re:I missed it? by digitalunity · · Score: 2, Insightful

      After a night of watching movie channels, I can say authoritatively that the 80's and 90's were chock full of shitty movies.

      We tend to remember the memorable movies, which were typically the best. Need I remind everyone of the existence of movies like Tremors, 2, 3, 4 and the series?

      Ok, now that your eyes are bleeding from the pain, you'll realize there always were, are and will be shitty movies. Just gotta see the good ones.

      --
      You can't legislate goodness. Let each to his own destiny, by will of his freely made choices.
    71. Re:I missed it? by RabidMoose · · Score: 1

      Wow, good thing you weren't in a high-level government position any time between 1950 and 1992...

    72. Re:I missed it? by Soulslayer · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Alamo Drafthouse Village in Austin just had all of its screens upgraded to Sony's 4K DLP projectors. Only the second theater in Texas to offer films in 4K DLP.

      Right now only Sony and WB are distributing films in 4K, but everyone else is expected to jump on board soon. The 4K projectors must have some nice scalar chips in them because 2K films seem more impressive displayed on them as well.

      --


      Once more unto the breach dear friends...
    73. Re:I missed it? by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 1

      I'm in the US, and where I live, evening tickets are $8 each. Matinee tickets are $5.

      When I'm in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I expect tickets to run 9.50-10 Matinee is $8. In Alexandria, I spent $12/ticket. Matinees were something like before noon on a Sunday. Even when I was in upstate NY, ticket prices were $9.

      I think he is exagerating, but not by much.

      My real complaint is that they have raised the prices of food so much, that I do avoid it. Hell, if they charged a 10% markup on cost for popcorn, I'd buy it every single time. As it is now, I refuse to purchase it on principle.

      --
      Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
    74. Re:I missed it? by TavisJohn · · Score: 0, Redundant

      "For the first and only time, something that has "leaked" to the internet has been completely and utterly removed from it. You need to be quicker next time."

      Ha ha ha ha ha!
      It is the top movie on The "Bay's" top 100 list, with over 20,000 seeders.

      Once something is put out on the net, it can NEVER be truly removed.
      It was re-uploaded yesterday.

    75. Re:I missed it? by kromozone · · Score: 1

      I wonder what percentage of the participants are using an IP blocklist or something even more secure such as Relakks. Do you think persons in the former category are safe? How effective are the blocklists?

    76. Re:I missed it? by vranash · · Score: 1

      America? :D

    77. Re:I missed it? by thesolo · · Score: 1

      Ahh, a Philadelphian! Do yourself a favor and go see it at the IMAX in King of Prussia instead, very soft, reclining, comfortable seats.

      The Tuttleman theatre at the Franklin Institute was designed almost twenty years ago, and was intended for short educational films, not full-length features. If you recall, it used to be named the Tuttleman-Omniverse Theatre, not Tuttleman-IMAX.

    78. Re:I missed it? by witherstaff · · Score: 2, Funny

      As Jeff from Coupling would suggest - that's what fast forward was invented for. "...you tend to fast forward if anyone's dressed. Sometimes I forget and do that with proper films. I can get through a lot of movies in an evening. "

    79. Re:I missed it? by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah, popcorn is ridiculous. A soda and popcorn costs me $13 here. I'm sorry, but soda + popcorn isn't worth that. Still, though, at $5 for a matinee, I can't complain about my ticket prices.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    80. Re:I missed it? by innocent_white_lamb · · Score: 2, Informative

      I own a movie theatre. My admission prices are $6 for adult admission, $4 for children 12 and under and seniors, and $4 for matinees.
       
      I also sell popcorn for $2.50, $3.50 and $4.50, and soda for $1.50, $2.00 and $2.50.

      --
      If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
    81. Re:I missed it? by vranash · · Score: 2, Informative

      I *WISH* She had oversized tits, it would've given me something to keep me occupied during the embarrassing excuse for dialogue that accompanied Episodes 2&3 of Star Wars that I finally got around to watching this week... I really wish I could return these videos for a refund because that's 30 bucks and 4.5 hours of my life I'm never going to get back :D

    82. Re:I missed it? by Sancho · · Score: 1

      That's good to hear. I was always a fan of the idea of the Drafthouse, but I was always so disappointed with the quality.

      I'll give them (or that one, at least) another try now!

    83. Re:I missed it? by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah, popcorn is ridiculous. A soda and popcorn costs me $13 here. I'm sorry, but soda + popcorn isn't worth that. Still, though, at $5 for a matinee, I can't complain about my ticket prices.

      There was a theatre in my old town. Popcorn, drinks (slushies) and tickets for my wife and I came out to.... $6 (total)

      The screen was small (maybe 240"), the seats were... well some of them might have been folding chairs, and the picture/sound wasn't so great.

      But for $6 it was still a fun time. I'd go there again if I still lived there.

      --
      Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
    84. Re:I missed it? by witherstaff · · Score: 1

      They will still get DMCA notices for just a download. Having been in the ISP field I got a few for clients torrenting BSG and Dark Crystal - the few I can recall off the top of my head.

    85. Re:I missed it? by Cormophyte · · Score: 1

      Tell that to Lindsay Lohan. I've heard more late night show jokes pertaining to her and drugs than I can shake a stick at, but they still stick her untalented ass in movies and she still has more money than god.

      There are plenty of trainwrecks that have no talent and keep on earning. The only people who celebrity their way to the poor house are at the screwup level of a Spears or a...oh...what's the name of that guy from the Batman movie, died cause he was stupid and took too many pills, never made a movie I wanted to watch until the one he died after making (because it was the only one which was a solid film from beginning to end)?

    86. Re:I missed it? by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      Tell me... where can I find this magical place? I might have to move there. :)

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    87. Re:I missed it? by Ifandbut · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hollywood have run out of original ideas and are now strip-mining all of the money-making franchises they can, especially comics.

      The Simpsons did it!

      Every story that can be done has been done and done several times. It is rare that you get to see something truly unique (Donnie Darko). Until then I'll try to enjoy the new spins hollywood puts on old classics.

    88. Re:I missed it? by Spazztastic · · Score: 1

      They're actually fixing this in a cinema near me - they have a screen that only over-18s can go in, regardless of the film.

      You'd be surprised how many morons are filtered out when you do that.

      I've seen plenty of over-18's who are equally as obnoxious.

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    89. Re:I missed it? by Spazztastic · · Score: 1

      Ahh, a Philadelphian! Do yourself a favor and go see it at the IMAX in King of Prussia instead, very soft, reclining, comfortable seats.

      That's always where I go almost always (I'm 5 minutes from 202), or the AMC across from the Plymouth Meeting Mall. The leg room still doesn't match what I had at the one on Paramus, NJ.

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    90. Re:I missed it? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's no real depth to anything recent.

      I can think of dozens of movies from 2008 that had all the "depth" you can desire.

      Doubt with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Body of Lies, Milk, Benjamin Button, Changeling and Gran Torino (Clint is the greatest living American director!) Tell No One and those are just a few of the big-studio productions that come to mind without my having to think about it.

      I think what you're really trying to say is that there have been no big special-effects extravaganzas like the kind of movies you like to watch, which really doesn't have anything at all to do with "depth". But even if you take only the kind of movies you can understand into consideration, there have been some really excellent productions recently. Whether it was your cup of tea of not, The Dark Knight was an amazingly "deep" look at the superhero genre, with some very thoughtful performances and direction.

      I understand that you started drinking a little bit early today, and you're a little bit fucked-up, so I'm not holding your off-hand idiocy against you. I'm a bit surprised that others thought your comment "Insightful" though.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    91. Re:I missed it? by owlnation · · Score: 1

      You're right about the rapidly declining quality of Hollywood's output.

      Nah, not the case at all. Total nonsense. Hollywood's big studios have changed very little since the 1920s. You can read plenty of stories about Hughes, Goldwyn, Meyer et al, and how much they hired girls for their tits and only cared about the money. It's actually less of a problem now, because actors and crew aren't contracted to studios and have more control of their career. And far, far less films are made now than were in the 30s and 40s -- much less dreck overall.

      Yes, digital VFX are commonplace in studio movies. In the past this was done with matte painting, other optical FX and special fx. Different technique -- but same difference.

      Hollywood hacks have always ripped-off more talented small studio film-makers. The slow motion crew walk towards a spacecraft -- no, it's not from Armageddon -- it's ripped off from the Right Stuff.

      There are very few great blockbuster movies in history that have very much artistic merit -- some yes -- but few. The same is true for romcoms, or comedy generally. Adam Sandler owes much to the Three Stooges, or Harold LLoyd.

      99% percent of superhero movies have to all intents and purposes the exact same plot -> birth of hero -> discovers power -> learns power but not quite -> birth of supervillain -> various battles through second act -> confrontation -> oh no this could be it for our hero -> roof top/ warehouse/ etc battle between hero and villain (in rain if poss.) -> super hero masters the one power he didn't quite get -> happily ever after. Nope, hasn't changed a bit since the 1930's.

      However, there is fantastic work done in US movies by smaller studios. This has not really changed since the beginning of the industry either.

    92. Re:I missed it? by rpillala · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The Joker's point throughout the movie is that people are self-serving and will turn on heroes as soon as it suits their whim. When he talks to Batman in the police station, he basically says as much, explaining that Batman's token obedience to his "one rule" counts for shit when the chips are down. To prove his point, he gives the people on the boat the means to save themselves at the expense of breaking what we would hope is each person's "one rule." The fact that they didn't is the movie telling us that there is hope for people and that we're not just a base collection of alienated individuals. The people on the boat are the ones who really defeated Joker in the movie by rejecting his premise. That's why the ending was so comparatively weak. Batman's not really the hero.

      --
      When the axe came to the forest, the trees said, "Look out - the handle was once one of us."
    93. Re:I missed it? by Cormophyte · · Score: 1

      I'm augmenting iluvcapra's previous point here. And although I don't mean to sound like a troll, this might come out sounding that way, but I don't mean to, so don't hate me.

      You could have a valid complaint, but I think you're using the word digital and pixel in ways that don't really apply. The little spots on real film are chemicals on a strip of plastic, and you can see them to a certain degree when it's projected large enough. So, what you're probably seeing is the grains of color which have been scanned in and then digitally projected (or faked in the case of movies that were shot on video instead of film but still want to look like they were shot on film). They've been there since film was invented, but the sharper the projection the more you'll see them because any blurryness will blend the little spots together.

    94. Re:I missed it? by internerdj · · Score: 1

      Yeah. Our theater charges for the privilege to sit in the over-21 section. It might eliminate some but I'm not going to pay another premium (on top of the cleanliness one I mentioned earlier) to sit in a different section so that maybe an age filter will fix the problem.

    95. Re:I missed it? by innocent_white_lamb · · Score: 1

      I live in a town of 5000 people.
       
      And yes, there's a movie on every night. And weekend matinees when I have a kids movie.

      --
      If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
    96. Re:I missed it? by JCSoRocks · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Those people are meant to work in strip clubs, not films. If you can't act you don't belong in a movie. Just because there are a bunch of other famous people in the movie doesn't make you a good actor. It just means you're the eye candy and they're the ones that are going to make the film tolerable despite your complete inability to act. There are too many movies like that. It's dreadful.

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    97. Re:I missed it? by MobiusPoint · · Score: 5, Funny

      The MPAA downloaded a copy, thereby reducing the number of copies available.

    98. Re:I missed it? by JCSoRocks · · Score: 3, Funny

      Of course he's not the hero. He's the bloody Dark Knight.

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    99. Re:I missed it? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Ah, ok. I did know that Bittorrent uploaded pieces of the file as you downloaded it, but read "leechers" and for some reason thought they were people who were downloading the file with clients configured to not allow any uploads. Thanks for the correction.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    100. Re:I missed it? by lymond01 · · Score: 2, Informative

      IIRC, one of the first things the Joker's recording says is, "If anyone jumps off the boat, I'll blow it up."

    101. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is such old news. I watched that leaked version on Tuesday night! It's good quality, with most of the CG shots already done except a few exterior shots of airplanes or buildings.

      Okay, MPAA will be here in 3, 2,

    102. Re:I missed it? by Vu1turEMaN · · Score: 1

      As far as I've seen, I've never heard of a Verizon customer getting hit for it.

    103. Re:I missed it? by Jim4Prez · · Score: 2, Informative

      Bah! Forget torrents, too slow and too easy to get busted for uploading. Just use usenet. Try this Binsearch search

    104. Re:I missed it? by grub · · Score: 1


      Am I the only one who spent the boat scene thinking "why the hell did they not push the button yet?"?

      I thought the Joker would have rigged them backwards and the criminals would have blown themselves up instead of the other boat.

      Nope, nothing happened and that crap just made the movie too long.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    105. Re:I missed it? by CorporateSuit · · Score: 1

      Grabbing a torrent from a public tracker isn't wise at the best of times, but for something like this it's crazy. The MPAA/FOX may very well have their eyes on those seeder and peer lists.

      This is precisely why I just emailed my wife to take her laptop to an unsecured wireless nearby and start torrenting. Yes, we are the true reason why old ladies without computers get busted by the RIAA.

      --
      I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
    106. Re:I missed it? by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's stealing!

      --
      "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
    107. Re:I missed it? by v1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Only one peer has to be a wolf in the sheep. In a swarm of that popularity, there may be 3500 peers. Odds are slim indeed that all 3500 of them are NOT mpaa agents running BT logging tools. That safepeer or whatever it is isn't providing much beyond a false sense of security. They mainly block known subnets. If someone takes a logger home and loads it on their PC, (and I'm sure they do) then it will sneak into the swarm no matter what you try.

      I know several people that have received multiple letters from their ISPs. A couple have been told "one more and we disconnect you". I haven't ran into anyone that's actually gotten the boot though so I don't know if they don't carry through, or if everyone just gives up on BT after the warnings look genuine.

      Private trackers (and I don't mean "demonoid" private) are probably the safest way to BT at this time. Those users have to keep a ratio, and the wolves don't usually upload to the swarm, (seeing as that would either #1 be infringement, or #2 produce bad checksums and get you kicked) they just connect and quietly log IPs from the tracker scrapes. Those servers usually introduce some level of responsibility to the inviter for his invite tree also so people don't just invite random individuals, and invites are in too limited a supply to waste.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    108. Re:I missed it? by DreamsAreOkToo · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ha ha ha ha ha!
      It is the top movie on The "Bay's" top 100 list, with over 20,000 seeders

      Achievement Unlocked: "Whoosh"

    109. Re:I missed it? by Creepy · · Score: 1

      Speaking of Clint, I could fully understand why many actors are pretentious snobs. I was having a late dinner with my (newlywed) wife in Maui (we were in Kihei at the time, I think, but I can't remember the restaurant) in 2001 and we stopped by a little coffee shop that also served food (and really good food at that). The place was dead except for a couple of servers, a barrista and us and shortly after we arrived, Clint and Dina came in (from a golf tourney I heard later) and sat directly behind me in the corner. I never met him and only saw the back of his head, but I had my back to him for an hour. The waitstaff were fawning over him and the barrista constantly staring - one waiter even whispered excitedly to me that Clint was sitting directly behind me and looked like he was about to wet his pants. Now imagine that reaction every day and all the time as well as people with cameras stalking you... I'm really glad we left them alone (I have a friend that woulda killed for Clint's autograph) - I think they just wanted a quiet place to sit and talk and aside from some over-attentive wait-staff, that's what they got.

    110. Re:I missed it? by Jurily · · Score: 1

      Wow, good thing you weren't in a high-level government position any time between 1950 and 1992...

      That is an absolutely different game: there is an outcome built in which doesn't involve lots of people dying. There was no Joker in the cold war saying "decide or I will kill everyone".

    111. Re:I missed it? by timeOday · · Score: 1

      I guess this is the real test of whether they truly believe each infringement costs them $25K or whatever crazy price they made up.

    112. Re:I missed it? by Spellvexit · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I find myself going to movie theaters less and less because of the slow changes, all to negative effect:
      • Price: higher
      • Volume: louder (read: deafening)
      • Advertisements: far too many
      • Screens: older

      I could probably live with most of these changes but for the screens. I've been to several different theaters here in San Diego, and I constantly marvel at how poor the picture is. The screens are often too bright with no contrast, or blurry. While sound systems seem to get upgraded every few years on a relentless campaign to deafen moviegoers, the screens and projectors seem oddly neglected. I've seen better film quality in the $1.50 theater in Eugene. There's no quicker way to make me feel swindled than to have to squint at a movie I paid close to $10 to view.

      --
      The moon may be smaller than the earth, but it's much farther away!
    113. Re:I missed it? by nabsltd · · Score: 1

      Private trackers (and I don't mean "demonoid" private) are probably the safest way to BT at this time. Those users have to keep a ratio, and the wolves don't usually upload to the swarm, (seeing as that would either #1 be infringement, or #2 produce bad checksums and get you kicked) they just connect and quietly log IPs from the tracker scrapes.

      If you can get connected to one of these "private" trackers, you can easily spy on every single torrent without ever worrying about ratio.

      First, you can always upload on torrents that aren't really a copyright issue.

      Second, you can set your client to not download anything but the tiny .NFO file for every torrent, and then share it back. Doing this, you get to watch the IPs connected to the tracker, but never share anything dangerous.

      Last, I often am able to download from a "private" tracker through DHT.

    114. Re:I missed it? by tsm_sf · · Score: 1

      my irritation at being told what I can and can not do overrides my lack of interest in a comic book character

      --
      Literalism isn't a form of humor, it's you being irritating.
    115. Re:I missed it? by Creepy · · Score: 1

      Prosecution would be hard, too - downloaders could claim they thought it was a trailer or promotional cut and didn't know it was the whole movie. While the downloader still could get fined, it just likely wouldn't be in an amount that would make the case worthwhile. It's much easier to go after the suppliers.

    116. Re:I missed it? by DaveV1.0 · · Score: 1

      So, your irritation is justification for violating the law and violating other people's rights?

      What do you do when a woman doesn't want to have sex with you and it irritates you, rape her?

      --
      There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
    117. Re:I missed it? by gknoy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You've been marked Funny, but that might not be a bad idea. It'd be interesting to see a concrete example: Known movie, leaked, and measurable box office success. Then again, movie beancounters would likely claim that it could have been more...

    118. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's actually not that bad. I had no intention of seeing this in theaters until now. Thanks to the leak, they're getting at least one more chump to go to the box office :)

    119. Re:I missed it? by ImYourVirus · · Score: 1

      Yeah and then your boat would have blown up, come on, you didn't see that coming? That's the way the joker is.

      --
      Why is common sense called that if it's not common?
    120. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      which is why Pirate Bay is such a good thing. i won't get back those 4.5 hours, but at least i'm not out the 30 bucks.

    121. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And that dear sir is why I only use someone else's open wifi router for my torrents. I'd rather not be busted myself.

      BTW: 3.21 share ratio for that file. Seeders FTW

    122. Re:I missed it? by hviniciusg · · Score: 1

      19397 seeds and 38101 peers?, it's preaty eassy u may manage to download it ;) http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4816113/X-Men.Origins.Wolverine.2009.WORKPRiNT.XviD-NoRar

    123. Re:I missed it? by maxume · · Score: 1

      Are you sure about the matinees? The two theaters that I have recently been to have been the most geographically convenient to where I was at the time and offered weekday afternoon matinees (two of them, one at ~1:30 and one at ~4:30).

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    124. Re:I missed it? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Only if you are too stupid to realize that a company can't make money on unreleased products. You're arguing a distinction without a difference.

    125. Re:I missed it? by maxume · · Score: 1

      Or he considers greed and selfishness to be moral and ethical.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    126. Re:I missed it? by v1 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Second, you can set your client to not download anything but the tiny .NFO file for every torrent, and then share it back. Doing this, you get to watch the IPs connected to the tracker, but never share anything dangerous.

      That doesn't work how you think it does. Files are divided into "pieces", which vary in size but are a tradeoff to keep piece size reasonable (~2mb) yet keep total piece count reasonable. (~1000) Too big of a piece size and it takes too long to get each piece. (and too much to redownload if a hash fails) Too many pieces means more tracker overhead and larger .torrent files.

      So that .NFO at the front is bundled with perhaps 1.98mb of the start of the next file, in the first piece. There's no way to get (or share) just the .NFO file itself. The torrent pieces are made from a single giant (think TAR) file of the entire torrent. You can see this when you tell your client to download just one specific file. Look at the % complete and you'll notice the file before and after the one you wanted, you have like 2% of. That's because file boundaries rarely match piece boundaries. If you just select the first file, (say its the .NFO) you will download a percentage of the next file also. (you will get all of the first piece) It's totally unavoidable.

      (and yes, I wrote a bittorrent client)

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    127. Re:I missed it? by tholomyes · · Score: 1

      He seems like he would be a pretty cool guy. When my wife was living in Santa Cruz, she had an absolutely shitty twenty-first birthday. So she's sitting outside crying, with her sister consoling her, when Clint drives by and gives her a big smile and a wave; it helped make her day a spot brighter.

      --
      When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat? -C. Palahniuk
    128. Re:I missed it? by stonedcat · · Score: 0

      The same achievement you get in World of Warcraft when you roll a hunter.
      It's like the game knows you've entirely missed the point and just needs to fuck with you.

      --
      You can't take the sky from me.
    129. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pakistan

    130. Re:I missed it? by cinderblock · · Score: 2, Funny

      The MPAA downloaded them all. All of the copies.

    131. Re:I missed it? by jimbolauski · · Score: 1

      Hot young lovelies and explosions are all I need in a movie, the rest is just filler, plots have evolved into stringing along sex and fart jokes while sprinkling in scantily clad ladies and explosions. All I remember about Transformers is Megan Fox is hot epically when she was leaning over cruddy Camaro Bumble Bee and there was not enough of Optimums Prime not whatever the plot was or if there was any charter development.

      --
      Knowledge = Power
      P= W/t
      t=Money
      Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
    132. Re:I missed it? by idontgno · · Score: 1

      But they can count to one... nearly 60,000 times... I'm sure.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    133. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right about the rapidly declining quality of Hollywood's output. There's no real depth to anything recent. The old proven actors (like Star Trek and Star Wars) have become senile, uncaring, and devoid of soul at the hands of money-grubbers. The new crop of actors are cretinous, pretentious fuckwits who are chosen for their tits and their "real-life" drama which is as manufactured as their movies are. You know things are sad when Hollywood's releasing movies like "X-men 25: Because you'll see it Anyway" and "Direct to DVD 5: The theater is only for Booze and sex".

      You are sadly deluded Hollyweird has been declining. It never was.

    134. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous+Psychopath · · Score: 1

      That's what cheeses you off? How about I just paid $20 to take my wife out rather than stay in and the guy two rows forward is on his phone the whole time, the teens in the seat next to you are blabbering about how the lead actor is so dreamy, the guy behind you is kicking your seat, and the idiot three rows back is throwing popcorn at someone in front of you and isn't a good shot. And the manager of the "upscale" theater doesn't care any more than the manager of any other theater in town. The only plus is they clean the seats between performances so you aren't sitting in who knows what to save $3.

      The fact that you believe it only costs $20 for two people to go to the movies shows that you haven't actually been to a movie in a long, long time (I haven't, either).

      --

      Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

    135. Re:I missed it? by StuckInSyrup · · Score: 1

      My thinking was exactly the opposite - A guy that calls himself "the joker" tells me to push a button to save my life? This thoughts are not even hypothetical, but my bet would be that anyone pushing the button would blow up himself, maybe even both ships. That would be Joker-worthy.
      That sums up my only problem with this movie - why did everyone trust this guy to do what he promised?

      --
      Ni.
    136. Re:I missed it? by kv9 · · Score: 1

      they stole it back.

    137. Re:I missed it? by UnNamedLINUX · · Score: 1

      Then grab a torrent, such as:

      http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4816113/X-Men.Origins.Wolverine.2009.WORKPRiNT.XviD-NoRar

      heh ass

      --
      --==## Who Frags Ya? Baby! ##==--
    138. Re:I missed it? by kv9 · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't download and watch it either.

      it was surprisingly entertaining even if (too) corny at times. more to the tune of real comics than the dark-emo-rage-abortions that were Dark Knight/Watchmen.

      I'm feeling serverly burned out on Comic Book movies. I liked Iron Man, ...

      hahahah, Iron Man.

      ... but have been nonplused by the other offerings in the past few years.

      understandable, because except for Sin City and The Spirit there are no good movie adaptations. unless you got the shitty taste of Roger Ebert -- then they were all good.

    139. Re:I missed it? by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Not everyone buys the overpriced food/soda at theaters. Not everyone lives in a place where you have to pay for parking.

      As far as I remember, some of the theaters around me are $10.50 for an adult, so that would make it above your $20 limit for 2, but not way above, which is what I am inferring from your post. (I also don't think all are above $10, but I'm not positive.)

    140. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Batman's not really the hero.

      Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he prevent the Joker from blowing-up both of the boats after the people on them proved him wrong? If so, he's still a hero... if your definition of being a hero includes doing the right thing because it's the right thing, regardless of if it is difficult or harmful to you personally.

    141. Re:I missed it? by internerdj · · Score: 1

      Just double-checked, $9.25 per adult. I took my wife to see Twilight in November. Admitted my visits are rare, I do make it occasionally. The experiences only reinforce my desire to build a decent home-theater.

    142. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, I'd say there is something more than that going on as well. While they do make the argument that Batman is not a hero, they also make the claim that he is "more than a Hero".
      The argument for that is that he is capable of giving up his Hero's Immortality to also be a villain and a vigilante at times - as when he, case in point, absorbs the murders Harvey Dent commits so that Harvey Dent's legacy - which is such a vested symbol of hope for the city - can die unblemished by his actual and successful downfall.
      The Joker is successful in directing Harvey Dent's unwavering commitment to justice into a force of chaos and vigilante justice (not unlike Batman himself).
      Batman is not touted as the classical conception of a flawless Hero like Superman, instead he is shown as a capable man doing everything in his power to fight incredible corruption and 'evil' - and struggling not cross the line to become the villain himself - but he does sometimes, he has to.
      The argument made is that Batman is not a classical conception of a hero like Superman, but that because of his intention to safe his city - even though he is a Villain sometimes - he is an Admirable Villain, or possibly a Nietzschean Hero.

    143. Re:I missed it? by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      Sure, it's got legroom and good food, but it loses out big-time on the quality of the film.

      Worth it 10000% IMO. I will not go to any theater except the Drafthouse, because the entire experience is a big lose anywhere else. I'd rather wait for the DVD and watch a movie on my little 28" SD TV than go to most theaters, so a theater I actually enjoy going to will automatically have better picture. When I'm otherwise completely miserable, a nice picture isn't appreciated.

      Plus, The Alamo is just plain fun. Where else can I watch Dark Knight in a comfy chair with tons of leg room, pizza and beer that is priced like a normal restaurant (as in, cheaper than the crappy soda and popcorn at a normal theater), and while I'm waiting for the movie to start they play clips from the old Batman movies and the Adam West TV series. Batman vs Joker Surfing Contest! Bat Shark Repellent!

      I 3 The Alamo as it is. But hey, sounds like they're getting around to upgrading their projectors. I certainly won't complain about that. :)

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    144. Re:I missed it? by ic3p1ck · · Score: 1

      And all those 20,000 seeders can probably expect a knock on the door soon. Why people still use bittorrent (public trackers) amazes me.

    145. Re:I missed it? by Mozk · · Score: 1

      Where the fuck do you live? I'm in the US, and where I live, evening tickets are $8 each. Matinee tickets are $5.

      Seriously, I've always been tempted to ask that question myself. In my city, which has a population somewhere between 400 000 and 700 000, tickets run from $6 to $8. It's stupid to assume that just because tickets are $15 in your city, they are $15 everywhere in the United States.

      --
      No existe.
    146. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't lie, you told your mom that you were going for a walk with your laptop.

    147. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, these are pixels, as in I can see red, green, and blue bars in groups. It's a Texas Instruments DLP-powered projector.

      I'm seeing this from the center of the theater. The theater is the Krikorian.

    148. Re:I missed it? by segagman · · Score: 0

      I never ever say this but they got the proverbial "PwNag3"

    149. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I always thought that The Joker would have rigged the buttons so that it would blow up who ever pushed the button.

      Just as an added "fuck you!"

    150. Re:I missed it? by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, are you honestly using Star Trek and Star Wars as the end-all and be-all of quality movie making? Even if you're just talking about sci-fi movie-making, this is just laughable.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    151. Re:I missed it? by Katalyst23 · · Score: 1

      The acting isn't spectacular in the original Star Wars, but I think everyone can agree it's much less painful to watch through than Episodes I, II, and III.

      --
      It's turtles all the way down!
    152. Re:I missed it? by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      Whenever I'm in a hotel room I immediately establish a VPN connection to both home and work and redirect all my Internet traffic through those connections.

      Of course, I may not be a typical user.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    153. Re:I missed it? by glittalogik · · Score: 1

      In Kings Cross, Sydney, we've got a similar deal at a place called Govinda's. It's non-profit, run by a local Hare Krishna outfit. No kids allowed, fucking delicious all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet, followed by a movie in a small, comfortable theatre with tiers of mattresses with backrests instead of seats, and the whole experience costs a dollar or two more than what you'd pay at a normal cinema with a large drink and popcorn. The picture's average and the sound quality is a bit underwhelming, but no one cares because it's awesome.

      I'll do the big cinema thing for the occasional blockbuster like Dark Knight or Watchmen, otherwise it's Govinda's or home viewing.

    154. Re:I missed it? by GoodNicksAreTaken · · Score: 1

      Poor food, poor seats, poor video quality, and most of all poor company.

      I've found the solution to this to be to view movies at IMAX or in 3D. They cost a bit more but they absolutely have to have the film in focus and the additional cost keeps out the trash who put their bare feet up on the tables or seats in front of them. For everything else I rent from a DVD kiosk, borrow, or torrent (in that order). If I really like a movie I'll buy it, and then download the torrent. I like having a good safe physical copy but it's a hassle to rip it and I prefer the convenience of keeping it archived on my Xbox disk for XBMC.

    155. Re:I missed it? by vranash · · Score: 1

      You mean because it also filters out the morons who were too stupid to not have kids? :D

    156. Re:I missed it? by rpillala · · Score: 1

      Well, I don't mean to say that he's not heroic or isn't a hero. The movie's central conflict is between the joker and society. Not the collection of people that make up a society, but the construct of society itself. The joker believes that it's all a thin veil masking a war of all against all. As such, the boat resolves the central conflict. Batman's actions to save people are important but they're treating the symptoms, so to speak.

      --
      When the axe came to the forest, the trees said, "Look out - the handle was once one of us."
    157. Re:I missed it? by mgblst · · Score: 1

      There has always been shit actors, you just don't remember them...for a good reason.
      There has always been shit music, you just don't remember it.
      There has always been.... get the picture.

      Get back to your lawn, grandma.

    158. Re:I missed it? by mgblst · · Score: 1

      interesting point, what if i only uploaded 1% of the movie? or 2%? How much is illegal?

    159. Re:I missed it? by billcopc · · Score: 1

      Does the fact that a snitch has to actively participate in the swarm, not give you the hint that it's potentially inadmissible evidence ?

      It's akin to a NARC selling coke to kids, so he can bust them for being dope fiends. When a cop does it, it's called entrapment - they lose their badge for a week, stalk your home, that sort of cop bullshit... When a civilian does it, as is the case with the MAFIAA and their hired techies, it's just a plain old crime like any other. Even copyright owners cannot authorize an employee to commit a crime. The fact that they don't go after their own lackeys could be considered selective or preferential enforcement, which can quickly draw the ire of a judge who isn't too old to care (yet).

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    160. Re:I missed it? by pasamio · · Score: 1

      You mean Nixon doesn't count?

      --
      I always wondered where this setting was...
    161. Re:I missed it? by initialE · · Score: 1

      This must be why there are so many movies coming out in 3D this year. That's something you can't get off a torrent.

      --
      Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
    162. Re:I missed it? by Sasayaki · · Score: 1

      It doesn't work that way.

      if movie.isSuccess():
          print ("The movie was good and succeeded despite heavy piracy.")
      else:
          print ("Piracy killed this movie.") # ?? No checks on movie.quality() or movie.popular()?? Bug?!?

      --
      Check out my sci-fi book "Lacuna" at http://goo.gl/MVxX8
    163. Re:I missed it? by Macthorpe · · Score: 1

      Me too - but, you can grab an adult and physically chuck them out if you need to. If you did that to a minor, the police would have you in a cell before you could shout "BUT HIS RINGTONE IS BRITNEY SPEARS!"

      (NB. That's what good proof-reading does for you - I originally wrote 'psychically' rather than 'physically'...)

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    164. Re:I missed it? by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Bah, it's probably just the MPAA's new business model. They know the movie is a piece of crap that won't do well in the theatre... so instead they "leak" it then sue everyone that touches the torrent.

      It's "Wolverine". It could be still images of comic panels drawn in stickman style the whole movie, and it would still sell like bottled water in Sahara. Not even Hollywood can possibly screw up so badly that this will be a flop.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    165. Re:I missed it? by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but like condoms, Peerguardian is not 100% effective.

      And did that ever stop anyone?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    166. Re:I missed it? by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Whenever I'm in a hotel room I immediately establish a VPN connection to both home and work and redirect all my Internet traffic through those connections.

      Of course, I may not be a typical user.

      Sorry to disappoint you... :) One of our most common support issues is people trying to VPN home before opening a web browser and logging into the wireless. The second most common is people with the wireless card turned off, on not even present in the laptop. Virus or software problems third.

    167. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sorry, I was taking you seriously till I saw serenity, that movie was almost as stupid as lord of the rings

    168. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The acting in the original Star Wars and the first three Treks is pretty bad

      Motion picture - not that great but blame the bald girl. Wrath of Khan - Awsome acting and movie - KAAAAAHHN.. / you have been and will always be my friend / i always cry when spock dies :( Search for spock - again - great acting I dont get your point personally I think the finest acting from treck can be found advertising KFC on you tube - now that is amazing

    169. Re:I missed it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet you would skip occasional sex because condom does not give you enough security.

      Yeah... that's it. That's the reason... not enough security...

    170. Re:I missed it? by wrook · · Score: 1

      I will wait for the Blu-Ray of any new film. It costs about as much as trip to the cinema anyway.

      I really want to know where you get new Blu-Ray films for £4 a go.

      I'm not the parent, but a movie costs me 1800 yen (about $18) per ticket. Transportation to the movie theater costs me another 3000 yen ($30) (25k bus ride and 10k train ride each way). Since the total transportation time is about 3 hours and another 2 hours for the movie, I really do need food. So despite the ridiculous prices for DVDs (won't touch Blu-Ray) here, it really is cheaper to buy them than to go to the theater...

         

    171. Re:I missed it? by Eideteker · · Score: 1

      Did you miss the Silk Spectre in Watchmen? Ugh. Wrong actress, too young, bad actress, flat performance.

      --
      sic
    172. Re:I missed it? by halltk1983 · · Score: 1

      That's exactly why it's okay for Batman to be the "villain" at the end. They are beginning to be their own heroes.

      --
      Watch for Penguins, they eat Apples and throw rocks at Windows.
    173. Re:I missed it? by Tsunayoshi · · Score: 1

      I spent the whole scene wondering why the people in charge sat in the main hold with the detonator in their hands outnumbered by a bunch of people whose lives were in danger.

      But what the prisoner did at the end of the showdown really threw me. I though he was going to do the opposite.

      --
      "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live." - Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"
    174. Re:I missed it? by Again · · Score: 1

      When I went to watch Dark Knight, the theatre had an exit door close very close to the screen. The bright red exit sign lit up the entire bottom right hand corner of the screen. It was unacceptable. My friend went down to the front and tried to throw his jacket over the sign. Sadly it was too high so I had to put up with it for the entire movie.

    175. Re:I missed it? by Archangel_Azazel · · Score: 1

      Actually, there is a "hero story arc" that basically outlines every hero story ever made. It originated back when we (humans) kept our history through story telling. I did a cursory search on google, but sadly wasn't able to find what I wanted. Anyone else know what I'm talking about?

      -A.A.M

      --
      Your mind is like a parachute. It works best when it's been opened.
    176. Re:I missed it? by nabsltd · · Score: 1

      True, but that small amount probably wouldn't be a problem.

      You could even set to download nothing and still see most of the peers connected to the tracker, but you'd likely be ignored after a while because you don't have any pieces.

    177. Re:I missed it? by v1 · · Score: 1

      True, but that small amount probably wouldn't be a problem.

      I think that's still a matter of legal debate. The question then becomes, "how much of a copyrited work do you have to download to constitute infringement? More than half? More than a chapter of a book? Any one complete song from a CD? What about half a song? Where do you draw the line?

      I don't think that question has been answered clearly within the context of bittorrent. It could easily be interpreted as completing even one single piece, and I'm sure that's how the MPAA/RIAA would like it go swing when persecuting (oops sorry I meant prosecuting) peers. But of course they don't want it to work that way when they have wolves in the swarm.

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  2. Marvel's "Origin" Series by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Disclaimer: I do not care for (nor own but a couple) manga, comic books or 'graphic novels.'

    But when I was bored out of my mind one day I picked up the first of a six part series called "Origin" issued by Marvel in 2001.

    The story was good (not great) but the art was phenomenal. I am glad they re-worked Wolverine's origin story from whatever they had alluded to before and I recommend you view this series based purely on its art.

    I can't find any indication of which story they are basing this film on. I only hope the movie can live up to the beautiful imagery and settings in this series.

    I also hold the very unpopular viewpoint that it's basically a slap in the face to an artist to view their work before they're done with it. I also find it laughable that anyone would seek this out aside from people involved in movie production or people interested in this process to study. Do I think it will hurt the movie or cause any amount of financial loss? No, it's merely disrespectful and actually kind of humorous that anyone would ruin the initial exposure of what could amount to a great film.

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Zironic · · Score: 1

      I've seen this leaked version of the movie and even though the special effects were rather gray :P I found it to be fairly decent, I think I might see it when it comes out just to see how the special effects turned out.

    2. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Spazztastic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Do I think it will hurt the movie or cause any amount of financial loss? No, it's merely disrespectful and actually kind of humorous that anyone would ruin the initial exposure of what could amount to a great film.

      Do I think that they will use it as a scapegoat, much like Ubisoft did when an unfinished and buggy copy of Assassins Creed leaked? Yes. If their movie doesn't do well in the box office (Well as in higher than their expectations) this will be a perfect excuse for them to use with the media and to investors.

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    3. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by furby076 · · Score: 1
      Well from previews I can tell you they changed some significant parts (wolverine/sabertooth are brothers in the movie... they were never brothers in the comics).
      What really annoys me

      The film is not due for release until 29 April in the UK and 1 May in the US.

      Why not release it on the same day?

      --

      I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    4. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think you're reading too much into the disrespect thing. I understand that from an artistic viewpoint you might have a certain idea of how you want your work received, but I think if the viewer receives more joy or whatever emotion from seeing inside the work as it were then it's best if they see it that way. Also you know people are never going to get precisely the experience you want them to, although many may lie within an acceptable range. If you accept that life is in the living, then you should accept that you benefited most from creating the work and they benefited most from experiencing it in the way most profound for them. Or uh, so I believe. :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When do you think Ubisoft will actually finish that up? All the missions seem the same (at least on the XBox 360).

    6. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      I kind of agree with you on art.

      However, I view this as a corporate production by a committee - not a work of art.

      It is no different than the latest "Fry's" add in it's essence.

      I'll wait to see the finished product so the product can produce the appropriate tuned, tested, and approved emotional effects.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    7. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Zerth · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The story has common elements, but the details of those elements are very different.

      IE, Logan works as a lumberjack and has a vaguely similar traumatic event happen while working there, but it is in a completely different decade and isn't in the same chronological order with other events.

      And they kinda screwed up Deadpool.

    8. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by PMuse · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Out of respect for the artistic integrity of the 20th Century Fox corporation? Now, that's funny.

      --
      "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
    9. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by mbourgon · · Score: 1

      If you like the book for its art, check out "Kingdom Come". Hands down, the best artwork I've ever seen in a comic book/graphic novel. Every frame looks like a painting. Good story, too, but the art.... wow.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_Come_(comics)

      --
      "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    10. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Rhaban · · Score: 1

      In several european countries, movies are usually released on wednesday. Here in France Wolverine will be released on april 29th as well.

      Worldwide releases means US gets the movie 2 days after the rest of the world.

    11. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Archon-X · · Score: 1

      You raise good points, but I think there's one thing to keep in mind.
      Legality and everything aside - this is not a DVD rip, this is a workprint.

      Workprints are rare - almost collector's items. You get the chance to see behind the scenes like never before. You see wire shots, greenscreen shots, placeholder CGI, rotated scenes, pre-colour corrected scenes, everything. Things you'd never get to see even on a 'making of' extra disc, etc.

      Honestly, I enjoyed watching the workprint immensely, for the above reasons. I'd argue that this workprint will be adored and sought after by the fans, to get their hands on some 'collector's item' scenes and materials.

      Did I cancel my pre-ordered DVD? Nope.
      Will I still see it at the cinema? Most definitely, with even more enthusiasm to see the changes, and the tweaks to the final product.

    12. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by notarockstar1979 · · Score: 0

      I also hold the very unpopular viewpoint that it's basically a slap in the face to an artist to view their work before they're done with it. I also find it laughable that anyone would seek this out aside from people involved in movie production or people interested in this process to study. Do I think it will hurt the movie or cause any amount of financial loss? No, it's merely disrespectful and actually kind of humorous that anyone would ruin the initial exposure of what could amount to a great film.

      I don't know about a slap in the face, but even as an amateur artist I don't like people seeing anything I do before it is complete. It's not laughable that someone would seek it out, however, it's human nature. There is a LOT of hype surrounding this film. A lot of people that are interested in the film want to be the first to see it, comment on it, bash it, or whatever. It's the same as the people screaming FIRST POST here.

    13. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by kylemonger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I also hold the very unpopular viewpoint that it's basically a slap in the face to an artist to view their work before they're done with it.

      I would agree with you about most artistic endeavors but not about the sausageworks that is big studio moviemaking. Artistic integrity left that building long ago. I wouldn't be surprised if this were an intentional leak, done to generate more interest in the movie. I didn't even know there was a Wolverine movie being made, but I do now. News = free publicity. And there's no downside. Nobody who wants to see the real movie is going to be satisfied by a work print with missing effects, sound editing and God knows what else.

    14. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by kyouteki · · Score: 1

      That's exactly why I downloaded it.

      But I've watched a few leaked workprints before. (Never of so high profile a movie.) And, well, allm y attention was drawn to the incomplete effects. Totally ruined the experience for me. So, I plan on keeping the Wolverine workprint and watching it after I see the movie theatrically.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
    15. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by fyoder · · Score: 1

      I think you're reading too much into the disrespect thing.

      S'truth, esp. given that this isn't some individual artist's master piece, but a commercial product of a big studio. But there are practical reasons for leaving it alone, namely, it isn't finished. If you're not a big fan, then you can wait, and if you are a big fan, wouldn't you rather see it with all the special effects and music? Do you really want your first exposure to be a work print?

      --
      Loose lips lose spit.
    16. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      I don't know if I would go so far to call it a slap to an artist's face to view it before it is done. I would call it entirely pointless, though.

      You're going to probably miss the effects and some editing to tighten up the flow of the movie. And for a movie like an X-Men movie, you probably want to see all of the effects, because that's a big part of the draw.

      What would be entirely unfair would be to actually critique the movie in that shape. You'd be amazed what a little editing or some supplemental effects can do for a film.

    17. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by PMuse · · Score: 1

      There are two good reasons not to take this film:

      1. It's illegal.
      2. You'll like the final version better if you haven't seen the draft.

      Sure, you can get a little thrill from being first. That sort of thing will fade when you hit puberty.

      --
      "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
    18. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by hurfy · · Score: 1

      Typically big name films have release parties, etc with the stars or makers and some promo material. This way they can have them in both places much easier.

      No idea if that's the reason in this particular case of course.

    19. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      I would agree with you about most artistic endeavors but not about the sausageworks that is big studio moviemaking.

      I can tell you from personal experience, having worked on Spiderman 1 and 3 (at Sony) and Fantastic 4 (at Fox) that the people making the thing really don't see it that way, at least Sam Raimi sure as hell doesn't, and really who are you to judge? Or are people only allowed "artistic integrity" if they're starving in a garret somewhere?

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    20. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by cstdenis · · Score: 1

      That's why they leaked it.

      --
      1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual.
    21. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Johnny+Mnemonic · · Score: 1


      I also hold the very unpopular viewpoint that it's basically a slap in the face to an artist to view their work before they're done with it.

      I agree. Fortunately, there were no artists involved in the making of this movie.

      Srsly, I'd give more of a shit about the degradation of an artistic attempt to represent life in an unusual and insightful way. Movies of this type, however, bear as much resemblance to art as McDonald's does to a 5 course French meal. It's nothing but a crass attempt to pull money from my wallet. Since they've made that their one and only objective, I'm really not embarrassed when I defeat them at it.

      Especially when I can do so by using the foibles of their own methodology that they intended to use to draw more money from me, in this case digital distribution.

      --

      --
      $tar -xvf .sig.tar
    22. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      I'd be interested in just the unfinished portions, particularly the green screen and wires parts. The finished parts I'd just wait for the theatrical release to see and commercial home release to possess, but it would be fun and a lot easier to remix than isolating the action in the final product.

      However, at the end of the story:

      The leak came as a new campaign against film piracy launched in UK cinemas.

      In a change from recent years, the adverts move away from the message that piracy is theft.

      Audiences will instead see a trailer, fronted by Dr Who actor Noel Clarke, thanking them for paying to come and watch a film.

      Anyone have a cam or leaked print of that yet? PSAs and promotional materials should be fair use/game.

      Speaking of which, have you noticed how the center channel bleeds in and out on the left and right channels in 5.1 commercials on TV? Why is that?

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    23. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Weeksauce · · Score: 1

      I thought this as well at first. Fox News (parent company produced the movie) had an RSS feed this morning linking an article about how this movie was leaked and how the unbiased critic just happend to LOVE the movie, flaws and all. The critic said that this unfinished leak was so good they can't imagine how amazing the release will be.

      --
      An inventor is a man who asks 'Why?' of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.
    24. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by kylemonger · · Score: 1

      The guy who starts with a hog and a big knife and ends up with sausage, him I'll grant artistic integrity. A floor manager at Gwaltney? Not so much. And don't get me wrong--- I like sausage.

    25. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      I admit I find your metaphor dizzying. I would say Sam Raimi or George Lucas is a guy with a hog and a knife. Brett Ratner... well...

      You can get trichinosis from either equally, though.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    26. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by cinderblock · · Score: 1

      Or like Half Life 2...

      I played with the leaked alpha... I wish they hadn't changed so much... The took out some of the coolest guns...

    27. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by wrencherd · · Score: 1

      The "original origin" of Wolverine was very good too; if it had not been so, there would never have been as many "re-workings" as there now have been.

      With regard to the disrespect inherent is viewing artists' work before it's "done":

      If the work of the artists who first came up with Wolverine and made him an interesting personality (not just a "character") had been respected in the first place, a lanky, Australian actor would never have been cast to play the short, stocky, Canadian Wolverine.

      But I guess your respect for artistic integrity only extends to highly-paid, studio-backed adaption-wonks and not anyone who actually does any real creative work.

    28. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I also hold the very unpopular viewpoint that it's basically a slap in the face to an artist to view their work before they're done with it.

      However impolite it is, why should it be illegal?

    29. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm actually slightly interested in downloading it to watch after I see it in theaters. I just like to see how stuff works. I downloaded the HL2 leak and spent hours pouring over it, loading every map, checking everything out that I could. Same with the Doom3 E3 leak. And yet I still bought both games the day they came out.

    30. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "much like Ubisoft did when an unfinished and buggy copy of Assassins Creed leaked"

      I guess they never got around to releasing the finished version.

    31. Re:Marvel's "Origin" Series by Knux · · Score: 1

      In Brazil, the movie "Tropa de Elite" was leaked many weeks before it was released and it was still a huge success, because the film was good.

  3. The Reverse Streisand by srussia · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's the latest wrinkle in the marketer's playbook.

    --
    Set your phasers on "funky"!
    1. Re:The Reverse Streisand by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1, Funny

      Reverse Streisand? I assume that's like the Reverse Cowgirl, only more horrific?

      (lulz jk I know about the Streisand Effect. That's when she turns into a giant mechanical monster and battles Sidney Portier and Robert Smith)

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    2. Re:The Reverse Streisand by snspdaarf · · Score: 1

      Yes, because she sings Hello, Dolly! songs at the same time.

      --
      Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
    3. Re:The Reverse Streisand by Spazztastic · · Score: 1

      Reverse Streisand? I assume that's like the Reverse Cowgirl, only more horrific?

      Damn this vivid imagination of mine...

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    4. Re:The Reverse Streisand by Cassini2 · · Score: 1

      This is marketing. It is marketers capitalizing on the Streisand effect. Why else tell everyone you contained the situation?

      There are at least 100,000 copies of the movie out there. This must be the Three Mile Island version of "containment". The release version of the film was contained, but everyone who wants to see the pre-release version will have it by Easter.

    5. Re:The Reverse Streisand by RegularFry · · Score: 1

      ...

      I'll be in my bunk.

      --
      Reality is the ultimate Rorschach.
    6. Re:The Reverse Streisand by PhxBlue · · Score: 1

      It's the latest wrinkle in the marketer's playbook.

      And if the Reverse Streisand doesn't work, expect them to go with the Double Maverick^W Streisand or the Sad Grandpa.

      --
      !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
    7. Re:The Reverse Streisand by kimvette · · Score: 1

      No, because Three Mile Island actually contained the accident. This is more like the Chernobyl version of "containment" ;)

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    8. Re:The Reverse Streisand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forget StreisandEffect, what happened to the "AndNothingOfValueWasLost" tag?

  4. Spoiler alert! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a pouch!

  5. Nothing New by Drone69 · · Score: 1

    That's what happens when kids are allowed to work in the VFX houses.

  6. Time Zones.. by way2trivial · · Score: 1

    no really, I'm always a day late with these things myself

    in both cases they want the release to occur on Friday night and get all weekend.

    --
    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
    1. Re:Time Zones.. by hajus · · Score: 1

      It's Apr 29 in UK, and May 1 in the US. If it was timezones, then it would have to be the other way around as in Apr 30 in US and May 1 in UK, and it wouldn't be 2 days apart (just 1). And wtf, it's not going to be Friday on 2 different dates just cause of time zones, we use the same calendar!

    2. Re:Time Zones.. by Cube+Steak · · Score: 1

      in both cases they want the release to occur on Friday night and get all weekend.

      April 29th falls on the same day of the week in the US as it does in the UK... which means they get it on Wednesday not Friday. You do know we have the same calender on both sides of the Atlantic, right?

    3. Re:Time Zones.. by way2trivial · · Score: 1

      yes, indeed-it was in fact meant for a lame joke--
      (that is why I mentioned being a day behind--April 2-1=?)

      On submission, looking at it after I hit the button I knew I'd regret it...

      --
      every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  7. Math? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    May 1st - March 2nd = 1.97 months. Is "round towards zero" the new fad?

    1. Re:Math? by Lakitu · · Score: 1, Informative

      Today is April 2nd, not March 2nd.

    2. Re:Math? by mweather · · Score: 1, Informative

      No, and neither is reading comprehension apparently. The leaked film is marked May 1st, that's not when it was leaked. It was leaked in April, a month before the film's release.

  8. But Honestly... by StDoodle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok, even if I don't agree, I can at least see the logic between "full movie dl's = less ticket sales." But this is a freaking action movie without completed special effects. Can you honestly tell me there are a significant number of people interested in seeing an action movie, minus special effects, who aren't also the fanboy-types who will see it in theatres?

    1. Re:But Honestly... by Zironic · · Score: 1

      While I can't I'm sure the movie execs will.

    2. Re:But Honestly... by Kjella · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Can you honestly tell me there are a significant number of people interested in seeing an action movie, minus special effects, who aren't also the fanboy-types who will see it in theatres?

      I'm guessing it's more a matter of the same fanboys using up most of their watercooler talk, spreading details of the plot and spoilers over the next two months so that when it arrives they won't attract non-fanboys with the same enthusiasm.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    3. Re:But Honestly... by mgblst · · Score: 1

      Sure, there are different types of movie-goers. There are XMen fans, who will see it no matter what. There are people who will never see it. And there are people who are not that into it, but might see it if there is nothing else. These people might watch the unfinished product at their mates house, and decide to see something else at the theatre.

      There are also those who will watch it, and think it is rubbish so won't go to pay to see it. Then there are the cheap pricks, who will do anything not to see it.

      It just depends on how big you think this market is, whether it is worth pursuing.

  9. Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by MosesJones · · Score: 5, Interesting

    the copy is forensically marked

    Ummm if this was true then it wouldn't be an issue of asking the FBI to investigate it would be a matter of telling the FBI which guy to arrest.

    It will be interesting to see how long it takes to secure a conviction in this case and just how truthful the statements on protection are.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
    1. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by quangdog · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Does anyone know how it is forensically marked? Is it something as silly as a banner that appears from time to time in the film with a copyright notice on it? Or is there something more technically interesting going on - some method of steganography in film?

    2. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Ummm if this was true then it wouldn't be an issue of asking the FBI to investigate it would be a matter of telling the FBI which guy to arrest.

      That's only true assuming that only one person is known to have had access to the data stream (provably false.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      They have little orange dots in the theatre. Not sure if they have them at this stage.

      If the person was smart, they could change the forensics.

      I imagine you need a chain of evidence from the workprint on the internet back to a person somehow. Because otherwise, faking the forensics data makes it impossible to say a particular person did it beyond a reasonable doubt.

      But you might be able to track the uploads and downloads through IP logs if the person was dumb and did it on their personal equipment.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    4. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. Best case they know who was responsible for the film when it was copied. Presumably that person is in breach of contact and probably facing a pretty serious civil liability. However substantially more evidence would need to be gathered to show any crime has been committed let along to arrest anyone.

    5. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by RiotingPacifist · · Score: 1

      It is forensically marked, but when they looked for the key it was aXXo repeated over and over.

      --
      IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
    6. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it has a banner across the bottom.

    7. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Something tells me they will arrest someone and make an example out of them at the end of the day, evidence be damned.

      I personally do not support the use of out and out theft of prereleased content, so I hope people will avoid downloading this thing and not give the MPAA another reason to use even more draconian protections.

    8. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cigarette marks.

    9. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by mea37 · · Score: 1

      Except, what does the FBI do when Person X calls up and say "Person Y committed a crime and I have proof"?

      They investigate.

    10. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by gnick · · Score: 1

      I haven't seen this workprint, but for the DVD screeners that they send out for award review, they often digitally watermark some portion of the frame so that they can differentiate one print from another. So, assuming that the watermark hasn't been obscured or blurred in a leaked copy, the studio can go back and see which print it was and who it was sent to.

      That said, I'm not sure why they would go through the trouble of watermarking a workprint - It's not like it's being widely distributed or that you can track it back to an individual. My guess is that their "mark" is "This was the film as it stood on March 2. We can make a rough guess as to the 100-or-so people that had access to that copy."

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    11. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Bender0x7D1 · · Score: 1

      There are a lot of sophisticated methods to watermark films.

      For example, you could adjust the "mixing" of the audio track based on some key. One channel gets raised 0.1% and another is lowered by 0.1%. How much it gets changed, when it gets changed and which channels can be determined by a keyed function. Or you could change the frequency of the sound slightly instead of the mixing. Without the original master, you wouldn't know what the frequency is supposed to be, so you couldn't determine how, or where, it was changed.

      --
      Reading code is like reading the dictionary - you have to read half of it before you can go back and understand it.
    12. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Being a fan of the fbi and what they do, I thought I should let you know its not that simple. There are a lot of groups that need to get involved in an arrest, or forensic investigation of copied material. The problem is, I doubt the FBI REALLY cares. This kind of crap is at the bottom of the priority list. Sure they'll investigate, but probably not put many resources into it.

    13. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by rhsanborn · · Score: 1

      I'm betting it's more of a scare tactic for other films. MPAA is using the press to remind everyone that they have the backing of the FBI and forensic fingerprinting just in case this happens again.

    14. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      investigations as far as I figure would be for the case where film production worker, person A has marked DVD on his desk, and person B doesn't like person A. When person A goes to the bathroom, person B proceeds to spit in person A's coffee, fart in his chair and upload his copy of his marked DVD to the interweb, implicating person A. But thankfully we have a fair justice system, you know that whole innocent till proven guilty thingy.

    15. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Seth+Kriticos · · Score: 1

      Maybe a penis is blended in for a very short time periodically..

    16. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by jfim · · Score: 1

      They probably use CAP codes, which sometimes flashes a dot pattern during the movie.

    17. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      much of the possible steganography would be lost when compressed... unless it is designed to survive the compression... even so, redimensioning the image , cropping and then reencoding it should erase any kind of steganography

    18. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are patterns of brown dots shown periodically in light places. The pattern signature is like a serial number, you can uniquely identify a copy and trace where it has been - or supposed to have been. More importantly, who was responsible for it.

    19. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought there was a case recently whereby they knew a film had been pirated from Australia, because each country had a different coloured pot plant in one scene. I can't find it mentioned using Google, though.

    20. Re:Marked but they haven't arrested the guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Likely built in stego. I know a few years back the scene was dealing with the little serialized dots on the film version that are used to combat cams and telesyncs

  10. 1 month by secretcurse · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Isn't March 2nd closer to two months before May 1st?

    --
    I'm using all of my mod points to mod ancient memes down. Please join me.
    1. Re:1 month by iainl · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's leaked 1 month before release. That unfinished copy was already a month old before it got uploaded.

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
  11. I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This probably all has to do with being under paid in an industry that makes ass loads of cash for the few at the top, and hardly any at the bottom.

    1. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Thanshin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This probably all has to do with being under paid in an industry that makes ass loads of cash for the few at the top, and hardly any at the bottom.

      An industry? You're describing the entire system.

      Are you implying this wouldn't have happened in a utopian comunist country?

    2. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 4, Funny

      That is right, paying workers a fair wage is communist!

    3. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Thanshin · · Score: 1

      That is right, paying workers a fair wage is communist!"

      It depends on your definition of "fair".

      Mine is 100% of what they produce. So yes, yes it is.

    4. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Not to go too far off topic, but the Parent opened the door...

      In a capitalistic system, wages are paid at what the market will bear. If no-one is willing to work for the low wages then the salary is increased until someone does.

      Things that screw with this are H1B recipients, illegal immigrants, unions, outsourcing and "minimum wage".

      Basically, "fair wages" is a fallacy; people are paid what their labor is worth.
      If there's a million people able to do the job with no training, don't expect $100/hour.

      We may eventually arrive at a system where one company owns everything and can set ridiculously low wages for work, but we aren't there yet.

    5. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by daft_one · · Score: 1

      Nope, paying workers a fair wage is capitalist. Paying unskilled workers as though they held doctorates is communist. :)

    6. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by kz45 · · Score: 1

      "This probably all has to do with being under paid in an industry that makes ass loads of cash for the few at the top, and hardly any at the bottom."

      The few at the top are the ones risking all of their money. The people at the bottom only need to come in, do their job, and collect a check..even if the movie is un-successful.

      It also has to do with supply/demand. If everyone can do your job, it's not worth much in terms of compensation.

    7. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Moot. In *utopian* communism, they'd let you watch the movie at any stage of production, for free, stupid.

    8. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Soviet Russia, movie downloads you!

    9. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      "Nope, paying workers a fair wage is capitalist. Paying unskilled workers as though they held doctorates is communist. :)"

      I'm sure the 40 cents an hour Chinese factory workers will be glad to know they now have doctorates :)

    10. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      People shouldnt be paid what their labor is "worth" at the expense of living in its society.

      I can pay an illegal mexican immigrant 4 dollars an hour to mow lawns, but he cant afford to live in our society.

      Well and frankly he shouldnt... he's illegal.

      The game is rigged. Its not just "market value" or "worth" that is TRUE when the game is played by the rules. However no one plays by the rules.

      That is why we have illegals working in our country, and the government does nothing about it. Its why we citizens hire them as well. NO ONE plays by the rules, and the result is "market value" or "worth" becomes a race to the bottom that ends up being cut throat.

      What the market will bear is an interesting term because i think people play the market right past its breaking point. It can bear a lot, but we're at a point were we push what the market will bear, people's values, etc... to levels that are impossible to sustain a living in our own economy.

      So while i agree in theory, and under great ethics, things such as "pay by their value" is acceptable... It's not acceptable when that value forces people below the poverty line.

      The game is rigged, its a squeeze play that has squished all that it can. I dont care how pretty the roof looks, if the foundation is rotting... everything will come down. ... and thats whats happening now. You can only bullshit the economy so much before it breaks.

      Illegals, H1B, outsourcing, overseas manufacturing.... are the problem.

      Min Wage isnt the problem, nor are Unions. This country existed fine with those things for some time, and they only became a problem when businesses were allowed to place their wages against the slave wages of overseas workers.

      I'm fine with paying AMERICAN prices... if it means AMERICA works and can live well.

      You cant pit our working force against others outside of our economy (ecosystem). It breaks the entire cycle and deflates us to poverty. Oh but the wealthy will be just fine.

    11. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by daft_one · · Score: 0

      Right, sorry. I did mean to specify doctorates in English literature. ;)

    12. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by kz45 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      "Min Wage isnt the problem, nor are Unions. This country existed fine with those things for some time, and they only became a problem when businesses were allowed to place their wages against the slave wages of overseas workers."

      The unions aren't the problem? They are the reason companies want to go overseas in the first place. Years ago, unions were a good idea. Now, the organization that is designed to protect the average worker is nothing but a criminal organization used to inflate wages and extort large companies out of money.

    13. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Jackie_Chan_Fan · · Score: 1

      The unions are not why the companies want to go over seas. Companies want to go over seas because they can pay foreign workforces .45 cents an hour. A wage that NO American, Union or not.... could EVER afford to live on.

      It is greed, and it is a way to cheat our economy in the interest of enjoying greater profits a the expense of our civilization.

      Are you in a Union? I suspect not. So here's what you do. Go to your boss and demand they pay you .45 cents an hour. I'm sure they will gladly accommodate you.

      It has nothing to do with Unions. It has to do with our economy, it is an ecosystem. Our cost of living, the prices we pay on everything from health care to televisions. Its all relatively high and when you no longer want to employ within that ecosystem, the economy suffers greatly. We do not make anything anymore. Its not be cause of unions, its because next door does it for cheaper because next door, they eat dirt, and their currency value is pennies on the dollar.

      Its CHEATING. Thats all it really is.

      We could easily self sustain and employ American workers. We did it for years.

      Just to give an example, there are businesses in America who will soon be manufacturing solar panels in china. What happened to that "we need to be energy independent" stuff? We''re going to build it all in China? Who will afford to buy it in America then?

      We NEED a working class. Its not the unions. We're bleeding ourselves dry by imposing a no compete situation on ourselves. You want to build solar panels for .45 cents an hour?

      How about .65 cents? How about 1 dollar?

      We cant compete.

    14. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by psychodelicacy · · Score: 1

      I have a doctorate in English literature, you insensitive clod!

      No, seriously, I actually do. And I earn less than the minimum wage.

      --
      A closed mouth gathers no foot.
    15. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People shouldnt be paid what their labor is "worth" at the expense of living in its society.

      Maybe. But if they aren't paid what they're worth, then it's likely that they won't be paid at all. Whether that means they'll get a better job, or not have a job to do depends on the person.

    16. Re:I suspect this has to do with being under paid. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do realize that your argument about not hiring cheap immigrant workers is kind of tribalist, don't you? Is there really a difference between the market segregation you describe and, say, region coding on video disks?

  12. I loved the BBC article by Xest · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It talks about how the FBI has been called like it's a major disaster.

    I can picture it now:

    FBI: Hello FBI?

    MPAA: THE NEW WOLVERINE FILM HAS BEEN LEAKED

    FBI: SHIT, EVERYONE DROP THEIR RAPE CASES, THEIR KIDDIE PORN CASES, THEIR TERRORIST CASES, THE NEW WOLVERINE FILM HAS BEEN LEAKED WE MUST FIND OUT WHO DID THIS

    It's just the way the leak of a film gets more news coverage than more serious stories. It's like it's an international tragedy. I mean seriously, a film with chunks missing, temporary sound, CGI missing and so on. There are companies every day that have their security breached and IP stolen. Why does it get international coverage when it's a half-finished movie?

    The real response from the FBI should be:

    FBI: Here's your case number, take your ticket and get to the back of the queue

    On a side note the BBC also said that Fox has had the download of the new film taken down now - that baffled me a bit, I doubt very much they've managed to get it removed from the whole internet, if they have they're the first company in history to achieve such a thing!

    1. Re:I loved the BBC article by GrayCalx · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hehe, I like to think it went down like this...

      MPAA: THE NEW WOLVERINE FILM HAS BEEN LEAKED!!!

      FBI: Okay. [Frank, turn that off] We've made a note of it. [seriously... no they're on the phone. yes the mpaa. What? No, they're on the phone right now!] Just one second. [Damn did you see him just rip that guy open... no, no let it play a bit now] Ahem, yes so we're on the case! [I can't wait to see what the effects are going to look like] We will umm, let you know when we find something.

    2. Re:I loved the BBC article by Thanshin · · Score: 2, Funny

      FBI: Hello FBI?

      MPAA: THE NEW WOLVERINE FILM HAS BEEN LEAKED

      FBI: Wrong number. *Hangs up*

      "Shit, there's a leak in project Wolverine. Quick, call agent Manghetto! And put me with the president."
      "Mr. Obama?"
      "No, the real president. Doctor Doomsday!"

    3. Re:I loved the BBC article by ArsonSmith · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My guess:

      HEADLINE: "Code stolen from (unknown company) that calculates (some random data) STOLEN!!!"

      doesn't really relate to anyone where:

      HEADLINE: "(a movie you probably want to see) has been STOLEN!!!"

      Many more people will relate to and understand. News comes down to numbers.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    4. Re:I loved the BBC article by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      The secret is to exaggerate the monetary loss. The FBI won't get involved with anything less than a loss of $50,000 so just lie when you report the amount...something big like $200,000 to get their attention. You can always revise it downwards to $4,000 after you get a conviction. True story!

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    5. Re:I loved the BBC article by alexo · · Score: 1

      FBI: shit, everyone drop their rape cases, their kiddie porn cases, their terrorist cases,
      the new wolverine film has been leaked we must find out who did this

      Anything that will make the FBI drop the bogus "Kiddie Porn" and "Terrorist" cases is a good thing.

    6. Re:I loved the BBC article by pasha2891 · · Score: 1

      More like this....
      FBI: Herro this is FBI.
      MPAA: The New Wolverine film has been LEAKED!!!
      FBI: *click*

    7. Re:I loved the BBC article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The real response from the FBI should be:

      FBI: Here's your case number, take your ticket and get to the back of the queue

      Yes, but then you get five Congresscritters on Line Two, demanding that the case be given full prioity. The raped kiddies have no such representation.

  13. Removed? by prakslash · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is not an April Fool's joke. This is real AND no one can remove shit like this from the internet.
    The cat is far out of the bag.

    The movie is still available on most major torrent sites.
    IsoHunt
    TPB

    1. Re:Removed? by Thanshin · · Score: 1

      This is not an April Fool's joke. This is real AND no one can remove shit like this from the internet.
      The cat is far out of the bag.

      Is it alive?

    2. Re:Removed? by Ronald+Dumsfeld · · Score: 1

      This is not an April Fool's joke. This is real AND no one can remove shit like this from the internet. The cat is far out of the bag.

      The cat is not just out the bag - it's in a book

      --
      Where's the Kaboom?
      There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom.
    3. Re:Removed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      7000 peers right now. I'd call that alive.

    4. Re:Removed? by Piranhaa · · Score: 1

      Shh.. Don't tell the MPAA that! Now they're REALLY going to take it down (again?)

    5. Re:Removed? by Whorhay · · Score: 4, Funny

      I never understood the phrase to begin with. It's not like once the cat is out of the bag you can't put it back in.

      My wife has two cats that I routinely track down and punish when they've scratched on something they shouldn't or whatever. Cats are not some ephmereal animaal that's impossible to catch or something. It might mean moving furniture or burning down a stand of vegetation, but they are catchable and it's often entertaining to do so.

    6. Re:Removed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Catchable'? Yes

      Getting them in bag again? Questionable.

      The first couple of times we had to get my GFs cat in his carry box we lured him in with treats and snapped the door shut. He picked up on that fast, not only does he run when he sees the box now, but he won't go for any treats while we're within 6ft.

      I'm seriously considering investing in a set of chain mail gloves (and possibly a steel plate for the belly) for when he was to be forcibly put in the damn box. Either that or finding a vet that does house calls :s

    7. Re:Removed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He looked at the cat so obviously it must be dead =P

    8. Re:Removed? by smellsofbikes · · Score: 1

      My understanding of the origin of this term -- which may be wrong -- is that it, along with 'room to swing a cat' both came from a particularly weird form of medieval amusement. (The phrase 'enough room to swing a cat' originated 200 years before a cat-of-nine-tails whip was called that, just to fend off anyone who is going to claim that.)
      There was a bar game. They put a cat in a bag, and hung it (swung it) from the low ceiling of the bar, and then people tried to kill the cat by bashing it before it managed to claw its way out of the bag. If the cat got out of the bag, the game was over.
      Another variant of this was to tie the cat to a fencepost at face height, so it still had use of its legs, and farmers would, again, try to bash it to death using only their heads. That was apparently very popular at fairs, as a spectator sport.

      --
      Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
    9. Re:Removed? by smellsofbikes · · Score: 1

      I make chainmail gloves. They'd stop some of the slicing but the cat's claws will go through the rings, into your skin, and unless the gloves are very tight, the cat will then drag the gloves far enough you'll still have lots of cuts, just shorter than they would have been.
      Try mittens. Something that's deeper than the cat's claws are long, will get torn up but prevent you getting cut up.
      I'm told that this is the reason spiders aren't poisonous to people: they *are* poisonous, but very few can get their poison through the thickness of a human's skin.

      --
      Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
    10. Re:Removed? by hldn · · Score: 1

      I make chainmail gloves. They'd stop some of the slicing but the cat's claws will go through the rings, into your skin, and unless the gloves are very tight, the cat will then drag the gloves far enough you'll still have lots of cuts, just shorter than they would have been.

      double bag it.

      --
      http://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
    11. Re:Removed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Odd... your TPB link works, but it doesn't show up when searching. I used X-Men Origins as the search terms, in the Video category. Maybe TPB is half-assing compliance by leaving the torrent on the tracker, but removing it from the search results.

    12. Re:Removed? by uigrad_2000 · · Score: 1

      I never understood the phrase to begin with. It's not like once the cat is out of the bag you can't put it back in.

      In medieval England, piglets were sold in the open marketplace. The seller usually kept the pig in a bag, so it would be easier for the buyer to take it home. But shady sellers often tried to trick their buyers by putting a large cat in the bag. If a shrewd shopper looked in the bag - then the cat was literally out of the bag. (By the way, the bag was called a "poke," which is likely where the phrase "a pig in a poke," which nowadays means buying an unknown, came from.)

      --
      Free unix account: freeshell.org
    13. Re:Removed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um..yeah I think u missed the point, or the whole topic for that matter

    14. Re:Removed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The cat is out the bag" refers to a very old scam where a customer buys a baby pig, which is put in to a bag, but the bag is switched for another bag containing a cat instead. The customer only finds out that he has been tricked once the cat is let out of the bag... clearly it's not really an appropriate use of the phrase in this case.

      In this case a better phrase to use would have been for them to be "closing the stable door once the horse has bolted".

  14. Article Quotes by furby076 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    20th Century Fox confirmed the copy had now been removed

    Goodluck with that

    The film is not due for release until 29 April in the UK and 1 May in the US.

    This just annoys me. Release it on the same date.

    "Even if you see the workprint you're still going to have to go see it in the theatre to fully experience the full movie with CGI effects fully intact."

    Considering I like action movies on a screen bigger then 48 inches then yes.

    According to its website, Rising Sun Pictures is an Australian visual effects company that worked on the film and is currently working on production of Terminator Salvation.

    So when can I expect an early release of Terminator salvation?

    The Federation Against Copyright Theft said a leak of this kind was extremely unusual as pre-release security had been tightened in recent years.

    I had a full dvd rip of LOTR 3 two months before the movie was released to the movie theatres. By full rip I mean the DVD you would buy in stores when the movie was to be released to stores. This is not unusual/uncommon.

    We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning piracy and this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors and, above all, hurts fans of the film" the studio said.

    Obvioulsy we will condem it, but that won't stop an "estimated several 100,000 times" of downloads from happening.

    In 2007 director Eli Roth blamed an online leak of his horror film Hostel: Part II for reducing box office returns.

    Yes there will be some people who say "meh i saw an early release so no reason to see it in theatres" There will also be people who want to see the completed version on the BIG screen.

    In an interview with MTV he claimed: "You could buy Hostel: Part II for a quarter in Mexico City. As a result, in a lot of countries where the piracy was bad, they just didn't even release it."

    This part is a shame...people who are willing to pay 25 cents for the movie because they want to view it but aren't willing to go to the movie theatre or buy it on legit dvd. These movies aren't free to make.

    In a change from recent years, the adverts move away from the message that piracy is theft. Audiences will instead see a trailer, fronted by Dr Who actor Noel Clarke, thanking them for paying to come and watch a film.

    About time - i would prefer to see someone thanking me when I buy/rent a legit dvd. I understand the need to have the message there, but I have seen it ton of times. I wish they would make it so I could skip over it.

    --

    I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    1. Re:Article Quotes by iainl · · Score: 2, Informative

      Re: release date differences, it's only two days. Here in the UK we're getting a Wednesday release because the kids are off school, and it makes the opening weekend number bigger. The US marketing department apparently don't think it's worth doing something other than the usual Friday. It's hardly the biggest difference out there.

      As for Hostel II, surely Roth's problem was more the phenomenally bad reviews prior to release that killed it, rather than some unusually large number of pirate copies?

      --
      "I Know You Are But What Am I?"
    2. Re:Article Quotes by rrossman2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "In 2007 director Eli Roth blamed an online leak of his horror film Hostel: Part II for reducing box office returns." Or maybe it had to do with the fact I saw the first one, which wasn't horrible but besides some of the more "entertaining scenes" was a bit.. typical. Did I see the second in theaters? Nope, didn't really appeal too much. Seemed like a cheap follow up to the first one. Maybe it wasn't the leak of the movie that killed box office sales, maybe there were many others out there who, like me, just didn't care to see it in theaters. This holds true with a lot of movies. All I can say is, I'm glad I didn't pay to see Quarantine. The first maybe half hour or so was actually entertaining, but after that it went to hell real quick.

    3. Re:Article Quotes by BlackSnake112 · · Score: 1

      About time - i would prefer to see someone thanking me when I buy/rent a legit dvd. I understand the need to have the message there, but I have seen it ton of times. I wish they would make it so I could skip over it.

      Actually if I buy a DVD I want that DVD to be free of commercials, trailers, of everything but the movie (maybe behind the scenes can stay). Take out all the extra crap. I am paying for the movie. I do not need to see ads or other trailers.

    4. Re:Article Quotes by geekoid · · Score: 1

      "This part is a shame...people who are willing to pay 25 cents for the movie because they want to view it but aren't willing to go to the movie theatre or buy it on legit dvd. These movies aren't free to make."

      true, but in those countries no one can afford to go to the movies. So they wouldn't make money anyways.
      So it's not a real large problem in that it's not a loss.

      Don't waste my time making me watch you thank me. Just get to the damn movie.

      Of course, this specific case won't result in any lost movie sales. It's not complete. Just like people who film a movie while watching it in a public theater. Who cares, it's not going to hurt sales in any meaningful way.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:Article Quotes by lewp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nothing gets on my nerves more than unskippable DVD chapters. It's bad enough that the stupid MPAA/FBI warning is pretty much always unable to be skipped, but lots of DVDs actually stick commercials and previews at the beginning that you can't skip over either.

      On the other hand, if I pirate the film, I can have it in less than a half hour (less than the time it takes to run to the video store), the movie is never out of stock, I can watch it as many times as I want (making it superior to "on demand"), and all of that annoying crap is removed.

      I only buy a movie on DVD if I really, really like it.

      --
      Game... blouses.
    6. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So when can I expect an early release of Terminator salvation?

      Rising Sun didn't leak it, vfx houses hardly ever get the entire film and if they do it has a huge watermark with the company name over the entire frame.

      I had a full dvd rip of LOTR 3 two months before the movie was released to the movie theatres. By full rip I mean the DVD you would buy in stores when the movie was to be released to stores. This is not unusual/uncommon.

      I'm pretty sure I was still working on vfx shots 2 months out, so I doubt that.

    7. Re:Article Quotes by c1t1z3nk41n3 · · Score: 1

      I'm in Mexico City for a couple months right now. Any movie you want in theaters and thousands that aren't are on the street corners for about 20 pesos. Bout a dollar thirty or so at current exchange rates.

    8. Re:Article Quotes by Mishotaki · · Score: 1

      i would prefer to see someone thanking me when I buy/rent a legit dvd. I understand the need to have the message there, but I have seen it ton of times. I wish they would make it so I could skip over it.

      Go to Japan, there is a cashier who will thank you for your business every single time you go buy something in a store.

    9. Re:Article Quotes by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      "estimated several 100,000 times"

      BTW, kudos to the slashdot editors for correcting this to "estimated several hundred thousand times". TFA still has what would be read as "several one hundred thousand times".

      There are times when you can use numbers and times when you must use words.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    10. Re:Article Quotes by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 1

      The Federation Against Copyright Theft said a leak of this kind was extremely unusual as pre-release security had been tightened in recent years.

      I had a full dvd rip of LOTR 3 two months before the movie was released to the movie theatres [in 2003]. By full rip I mean the DVD you would buy in stores when the movie was to be released to stores. This is not unusual/uncommon.

      Skipping over whether you really did, or whether security has really been tightened, which part of "in recent years" did you not understand?

      Still skipping over security really being tightened, the movie wasn't finished until November 12, 2003 (according to the DVD you apparently had a month before), and the movie was released on December 17th, a whopping 1 month and 5 days later (do you always round up?). You're asserting you had the DVD 1 month before the movie was finished. Is this Spaceballs?

      --
      Stop Global Warming!
      Just say no to irreversible processes!
    11. Re:Article Quotes by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Nothing gets on my nerves more than unskippable DVD chapters.

      I don't us it personally, but doesn't DVDShrink take care of that by letting you re author the disk leaving out the parts you don't want? Plus you then use the copy and keep your shiny factory DVD in a safe place where the kids can't trash it...

      http://www.dvdshrink.org/why_en.php

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    12. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This part makes me lol:
       
      "Federation Against Copyright Theft"
       
      Are people stealing their copyrights?
       
      "Hey, I now own the rights to the Wolverine movie, pay up Fox."

    13. Re:Article Quotes by BobReturns · · Score: 1

      You couldn't pay me to watch Hostel 2. That's the difference. LoTR 3 was worth going to see multiple times, crappy 'horror' movies aren't.

    14. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no the reason no one saw hostel 2 was that the first one sucked, stupid story , over the top blood. Who cares

    15. Re:Article Quotes by Kagura · · Score: 1

      I'm certainly not one to make excuses for why I download many things rather than buy (sheer convenience is #1, and price is #2... not some moral argument), but I never want to reward a company for making those annoying unskippable commercials at the beginning. It makes me very unhappy.

    16. Re:Article Quotes by furby076 · · Score: 1

      Actually if I buy a DVD I want that DVD to be free of commercials, trailers, of everything but the movie (maybe behind the scenes can stay). Take out all the extra crap. I am paying for the movie. I do not need to see ads or other trailers.

      Some people like trailers, and the other extras (I like trailers, don't care for the "making of the movie" though i do rarely watch it *superman returns*).
      WIth regards to the penalty of theft warning I understand they have it because they don't know who is going to rip a dvd and put it online so they have to include it there. Probably helps in court when they can say "hey we put a warning on the dvd, the person can't claim he didnt know the law". But still, make it so i can skip to the next scene instead of having to stare at it for 30 seconds.

      --

      I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    17. Re:Article Quotes by furby076 · · Score: 1

      true, but in those countries no one can afford to go to the movies. So they wouldn't make money anyways. So it's not a real large problem in that it's not a loss.

      In every country there is someone who can afford it and refuses to pay for it. For those that say (like you) "well they couldn't afford it anyhow" that is their problem. Put it this way - if you owned a business and I could not afford your services would you be ok with me coming in and saying "hey I can't afford to pay you, but your still going to provide me with your product...like it or not?" I am pretty sure you would say not.

      --

      I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    18. Re:Article Quotes by furby076 · · Score: 1

      Still skipping over security really being tightened, the movie wasn't finished until November 12, 2003 (according to the DVD you apparently had a month before), and the movie was released on December 17th, a whopping 1 month and 5 days later (do you always round up?). You're asserting you had the DVD 1 month before the movie was finished. Is this Spaceballs?

      Sorry can't prove it to you.

      which part of "in recent years" did you not understand?

      "recent" is arbitrary....it could be two, three, four, or more.

      --

      I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    19. Re:Article Quotes by gknoy · · Score: 1

      I find it interesting that there appear to be no download locations listed on the forums (though there are md5 hashes). I presume they expect you to find it via bittorent?

    20. Re:Article Quotes by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 1

      No, you can't prove it. It would be very difficult indeed to prove that you had something a month before it existed. It may have been close to the version on the DVD, but that's not what you claimed. At least you didn't claim to have the extended edition which wasn't even done filming until March 2004.

      Recent could describe two, three, four, or even five and still not include Return of the King. We're talking about security to stop the pre-release of movies on the Internet. The vast majority of people weren't on it until at least the mid 90s, Napster didn't arrive until 1999, and Bittorrent wasn't around until 2001. When talking these kinds of numbers, "security [being] tightened in recent years" does not include not increasing security at all in 6 years, even for the idiots that make up the MPAA.

      --
      Stop Global Warming!
      Just say no to irreversible processes!
    21. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bigger then 48 inches

      You mean "than", not "then."

    22. Re:Article Quotes by asdfghjklqwertyuiop · · Score: 1

      Use a less crappy DVD player. When I play DVDs with mplayer ('mplayer dvd://') it jumps straight to the thing I actually want to see.

    23. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      LOTR 3 being available two months before the movie was released to theaters? You're full of shit. I followed the scene very closely at the time and do not recall anything of the sort. Like with parts 1 and 2 though, a DVD screener was released fairly quickly after the theatrical release.

      Unless you were in say Japan where the movie didn't premiere until the following March.

    24. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The part about the Hostel movie is dubious. It got very bad scores anyway and did not generate enough revenue to justify an international release.

      But it's always nice to have a scapegoat.

    25. Re:Article Quotes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My worst DVDs for that have to be Gundam Wing, as released by Bandai. 3 * 24 minute episodes per disc, 5 minute advert for the models at the start of every disc.

  15. Now I understand.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now I understand why pirating a pre-release is such a big deal (considered the "single point of origin"/"responsible for all subsequent downloads" legal stuff). I was asking about why pirating an album prior to release was so much worse, but this show's why in 16 million colors:

    Not only is it a slap in the face to the artists by releasing this /truly/ unfinished work, but a lot of kids won't see the movie because, well hey, I've already seen it.

    1. Re:Now I understand.... by phorm · · Score: 1

      The X-Men series has been pretty good thus far (OK, the third not quite so good as the first two).

      I'm plenty willing to pay and see this one, as opposed to an unfinished download that some dork posted up online.

      And for the record, I do hope they catch whomever did this.

    2. Re:Now I understand.... by Khyber · · Score: 1

      I don't hope they catch whomever did this.

      They fucked up Deadpool, and a good chunk of this is absolutely non-canon. It's a movie made to suck money out of suckers.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    3. Re:Now I understand.... by Macthorpe · · Score: 1

      They fucked up Deadpool

      If he doesn't break the 4th wall at least once, I'm blowing up the cinema in his honour.

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
  16. thanks for letting everyone know by skydude_20 · · Score: 4, Funny

    my torrent download is screaming fast now

    --
    Jesus saves souls and redeems them for valuable cash prizes
    1. Re:thanks for letting everyone know by Mishotaki · · Score: 1

      my torrent download is screaming fast now

      Lucky you, it's not fast enough for me, publicise MOAR!

    2. Re:thanks for letting everyone know by oneTheory · · Score: 1

      Sorry, no option for +1 4chan...

  17. This might change my mind by __aanaom1261 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had absolutely no interest in this movie and no plans to see it. The opportunity to see a work in progress is intriguing though, and I would be more inclined to go see the finished movie after watching the work print to compare the two. I'm not necessarily saying it's a good thing that this was leaked, but in my case (and maybe a few others), this might change a "not interested" into a potential customer interested in a peak at the film making process.

    1. Re:This might change my mind by n7ytd · · Score: 1

      Call me cynical, but this is a marketing project, for the following reasons:

      1. Knowing that the film is watermarked and traceable, and knowing that leaking it would jeopardize all future projects with the entire film industry, what effects house would do this?

      2. Their PR department having at least the smallest clue about the Streisand effect, why would they announce the leak?

      The only possible answer is they are hoping for a "wow, it's so good people can't even wait for it to be released!" reaction from the public. "Dood! This is the movie that everyone is talking about on MySpace! LOL!"

  18. I watched it by shellster_dude · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Since I have an interest in CG and filmography I downloaded the workprint just because I wanted to see how they blended the CG with real effects. I will be seeing the movie in theaters as well.

  19. DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by fulldecent · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hate to ruin it for you, but he dies in the end.

    --

    -- I was raised on the command line, bitch

    1. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds plausible, dont tell him though, he doesnt appear to notice he's dead in the rest of the movies.

    2. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      please sir, can you please send us your IP address.A representative of our "group" would like to have a few words with you

    3. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Snape kills Dumbledore.

    4. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by charlieman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Damn! now I have to see the movie to know who is this "he" you are talking about...

    5. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

      ozymandias nukes millions

      --
      intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    6. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by archammer2 · · Score: 2, Funny

      He's a Marvel character. Don't they have a three-death minimum or something?

    7. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which one killed him, Dumbledore or Snape?

    8. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by syousef · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I hate to ruin it for you, but he dies in the end.

      Since when did we start referring to freedom in the western world as 'He'?

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    9. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Snape kills Wolverine.

    10. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by IcyNeko · · Score: 1

      And Amidst the confusion, Voldemort does the unthinkable and kills Xavier by striking him at his only weakpoint: Stairs.

    11. Re:DON"T READ THIS COMMENT by jgtg32a · · Score: 1

      It depends on what "universe" it is 3 is the average.

  20. FBI Resources by joocemann · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Its a shame the FBI will spend time and resources to investigate civil crimes such as media piracy --- yet the FBI continuously fails to investigate political corruption, vote fraud, and a number of other seriously criminal acts that happen in the US.

    I am somehow reminded (living in CA where it is illegal) of the local police and highway patrol constantly using their Cell Phones while driving...

    I guess the FBI knows not to bite the dirty hands that feed them.

    1. Re:FBI Resources by DaveV1.0 · · Score: 1

      If I recall correctly, the last few times the FBI investigated voter fraud and political corruption, they were accused of political bias by political groups.

      What other "seriously criminal acts" are you referring to and how do you know they are not being investigated but just not reported on?

      --
      There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
    2. Re:FBI Resources by TinBromide · · Score: 1

      The reason the FBI is "investigating" instead of arresting is because the FBI is lazy when it comes to corporate cases. In areas outside of hollywood, (like, for instance, Miami), companies with big trademarks that see a lot of counterfeit traffic (like purse makers, pharmaceuticals, clothing makers, and the like) have to do 90% of the leg work down to identifying the warehouse where the goods are stored and performing an expert evaluation/report on why the goods aren't legit. When they have that, they call up the FBI, the agents investigate the warehouse, sieze and catalog the goods and auction off the importer's assets (to pay their salary). If a counterfeiter has an $8 million mansion, the FBI gets the mansion and the company has to step in to request a fraction of the proceeds from the auction.

      --
      Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
    3. Re:FBI Resources by TinBromide · · Score: 1
      Hi, me again, extra thought:

      If a counterfeiter has an $8 million mansion, the FBI gets the mansion and the company has to step in to request a fraction of the proceeds from the auction.

      Its doubtful that the schlub who leaked this has any assets worth seizing or auctioning, so there's no financial incentive to pursue this vigorously.

      --
      Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
    4. Re:FBI Resources by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

      Its a shame the FBI will spend time and resources to investigate civil crimes such as media piracy

      AFAIK, leaking pre-release material is a criminal, not civil offense.
      It doesn't matter to the Feds whether you upload it to the internet or sell it for a quarter on CD/DVD.
      Recent example: Feds Demand Prison For Guns N' Roses Uploader

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    5. Re:FBI Resources by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am somehow reminded (living in CA where it is illegal) of the local police and highway patrol constantly using their Cell Phones while driving...

      You might want to check that law, most states that ban cellular devices while operating a motor vehicle have exemptions for police/fire/ems. Don't forget, for public safety, a cell phone is a useful tool that guarantees privacy (privacy that even their own land mobile radio doesn't provide).

  21. Great advertising by xorsyst · · Score: 1

    I hadn't even heard that they were releasing a new X-men movie. Now I know all about it thanks to this. If anything, this might increase the box office takings.

    --
    Get free bitcoins: http://freebitco.in
  22. Sue A Million by ackthpt · · Score: 1

    Why wouldn't they just go for 1 million people?

    This is MPAA, after all.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  23. As if it would hurt ticket sales by grapeape · · Score: 1

    An incomplete workprint gets leaked...so what. People that will be grabbing this are more than likely fanboys who will be waiting in line opening night anyway. Missing special effects and the soundtrack in a movie that depends heavily on both is just a prelude to the real thing for fans. Unless the movie is absolutely horrible I cant really see any damage being done. Not that I condone piracy or leaked films before they were intended to be seen but lets be realistic about it.

  24. Actually, not quite. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They don't drop their rape cases--the FBI can do more than one thing at a time. But it is reasonable to pursue something like this, because realistically a work print this early will drive down sales in a major way costing the producers millions, easily. More importantly, we're trying to get better enforcement of IP rights in foreign countries and that's hard to argue for if we don't enforce them here. And too much of our GDP is in IP for us to ignore it--I don't think pirates should generally face massive fines or jailtime, but this is NOT the time to be cutting down on our exports.

  25. call CSI by Robert+Goatse · · Score: 0

    Forensically marked? BWHAHHAHAHAHAH!!111OMGWTGBBQ Who would bother watching this steamy pile o' crap anyway?

  26. Sweet! by areusche · · Score: 1

    I found my weekend project. Add the special effects to the new x-men movie. Final Cut and After Effects here I come!

  27. Probably wasn't Rising Sun by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The BBC baselessly says that the copy may have come out of Rising Sun because one of the shots in the workprint has a Rising Sun brand on it. I've worked as IT in the visual effect industry and I can say with certainty that it is not the norm for a visual effects studio to have access to an entire workprint. They are given specific shots, and in some cases a full sequence, but never the entire film. Whoever leaked this must have had access to the editing room in Fox's studio or hacked their way in, and the Rising Sun brand is from Rising Sun VFX shots being spliced into the workprint.

    For those saying the FBI should be hunting murderers, as I understand it, they will get involved if there is greater than $5000 in damages. This leak could easily cost FOX a million at the box office.

  28. This Will effect how it does in Theatres by Derosian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the movie is good the positive feedback will bring out more viewers, if the movie sucks then nobody will want to go see it in theaters.

    1. Re:This Will effect how it does in Theatres by geekoid · · Score: 1

      When a movie sucks, word gets around fast anyways.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:This Will effect how it does in Theatres by charlieman · · Score: 1

      People will go see it anyway, this is a quite good measure of the receptivity a movie is gonna have.

    3. Re:This Will effect how it does in Theatres by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This will effect how it does in theatres

      Affect.

      This message brought to you by the twin brother of the Aflac duck.

    4. Re:This Will effect how it does in Theatres by Derosian · · Score: 1

      Thanks, I hate it when I get those two mixed up.

  29. Losing a kajillion doollars, onoes. by DeadDecoy · · Score: 1

    Technically, though, you could now monitor the number of people who access the torrent and speculate more accurately as to how many hypothetical dollars are lost. I believe an above post mentioned ~60k downloaders total and at about 10$ a ticket (rounding up), it should be a loss of 600k. This is probably the upper limit since most tickets range from 5$-8.50$ and there will be some unknown percentage of people who will see the move anyways. So, leaving the mark at 600k, a movie usually needs to gross several million to break even with production costs. I'm not sure what the costs where, but in terms of similar movies' revenue, they tend to break 100 million easy. So, technically, they're losing 1% (maybe ~1% if you subtract costs) to piracy and, it seems, shouldn't be a valid scape goat.

    1. Re:Losing a kajillion doollars, onoes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most of the fanbois downloading are gonna see it in the cinemas as well, of those ~60k downloaders there will be at least ~30-40k movie ticket sales, not counting friends and family.

  30. lol by thatskinnyguy · · Score: 1

    The WORKPRINT release is just that: a work in progress. You can see tether wires, the cgi is basically conceptual and not anywhere near finished, the lighting is off in many scenes, and you can tell when there is a greenscreen in the background. Still good movie.

    --
    The game.
  31. you're in the distinct minority by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    sitting in your cold basement in front of a 17 inch monitor by yourself isn't superior to all of the negatives of the movie going experience you list, and any more you can think of

    fact is, movie houses have been declared extinct many times: in the 1950s, television was supposed to kill it. then the vcr in the 1980s. then the dvd in the 1990s, then the internet...

    and all this time, ticket receipts have gone up and up

    humans are social creatures, and just the subconscious knowledge of others munching popcorn around you and going ooh when you do and cringing when you do is something that heightens the viewing pleasure, yes, in spite of the babies and cell phones, its a net plus. nevermind the giant screen and the soon-to-be-standard 3D

    so please, by all means, don't go to movie houses. you and the other 10 of you who won't go won't be missed, and don't matter to the bottom line, or the discussion at hand. you're just a loud tiny minority

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:you're in the distinct minority by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      > sitting in your cold basement in front of a 17 inch monitor by yourself isn't superior

      I have a 60" TV in the living room and a surround sound system.

      Although the stereo is mediocre, it's still good enough to make local theatres look bad.

      Now in suburbia, that's just the baseline. Dedicated "home theatre" rooms have been all
      the rage out here for awhile. So a lot of your cinema grousing crowd are doing to be
      set up in a highly optimized dedicated space where more thought was put into the
      experience (probably) than the local kino.

      With this sort of setup, a 120" screen is not unusual.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    2. Re:you're in the distinct minority by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

      Maybe, but why do we hear these stories about just how many people are downloading films? Which is it? If the cinema's doing so well despite leaks and downloading, it means we shouldn't worry about it so much.

      Personally I can enjoy a trip to the cinema - but the social aspect comes on being with someone I know, not complete strangers who are more likely to just be annoying.

  32. Don't like being sued? Quit america. by Auroch · · Score: 1

    Well, if you didn't live in the US of A, you wouldn't have to worry about being sued for a victimless crime.

    --
    Quartz Extreme and Core Image. Are there any other real reasons to spend all that money on generic hardware?
    1. Re:Don't like being sued? Quit america. by sharperguy · · Score: 1

      you wouldn't have to worry about being sued for a victimless crime.

      Just being put in jail for them...

      --
      "sudo rm -rf your-face"
    2. Re:Don't like being sued? Quit america. by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Why? If they're in a country that follows the Berne Convention, they have laws to deal with copyright violation.

      (and how is the production company not a victim _at all_?)

  33. Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by cliffski · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well if you want better movies you need to pay to see ones you like.
    The slashdot crowd always says movies suck, alongside bashing the MPAA and proudly defending their right to torrent everything.

    newsflash: Movies are made for people who *pay* to see them. if you don't pay, the movies are not aimed at you, so don't act amazed when you don't like them.

    --
    DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
    1. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by xxuserxx · · Score: 2, Informative

      I pay to see a lot of movies. They are still crap.

    2. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by Destoo · · Score: 1

      A buddy of mine almost never pays to see movies. Apparently, he even gets paid to watch movies. He's a critic, but still likes them all.

      --
      Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
    3. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by JCSoRocks · · Score: 1

      I quit paying to go to the movies when I realized that my surround sound system and HDTV with BluRay look and sound just as good as the theater. Not to mention the fact that I have an entire couch for myself, I can eat popcorn for $.50 instead of $5 and my drinks are practically free. At least if a movie sucks and I got it through netflix I can just turn it off and watch something else without having wasted $20.

      Obviously there's a social component to the movies and I do go on rare occasions with friends when we all want to see something (e.g. The Watchmen). If movies and the snacks were reasonably priced I'd go more often... but they keep jacking up the prices. It's ridiculous.

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    4. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by insnprsn · · Score: 1

      Oh really? Paying for poorly made movies makes you like them? Hollywood isnt making piss poor movies because people torrent, people torrent because Hollywood makes piss poor movies, which Hollywood then blames on torrents and spirals even further down

    5. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by trytoguess · · Score: 1

      Then why watch them? You want to be able to talk about the latest movie? You enjoy MS3TKing them? It gives an excuse for a group of friends to gather? You're simply a masochist? Help me out here.

    6. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by cliffski · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you have a choice of making a movie for
      a) 18-20 year old tech savvy males
      b) 40+ married couples.

      Given that piracy rates for a) will be ten times that of b) and group a) demand a thousand times more sfx, which movie do you think will get funded?

      --
      DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
    7. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by insnprsn · · Score: 1

      I have to disagree
      Transformers 2
      X-Men Origins: Wolverine
      Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
      Star Trek
      Watchmen
      Fast & Furious
      Terminator: Salvation
      G.I. Joe
      Underworld: Riser of the Lycans

      Obviously this is not a complete list, but these are just movies off the top of my head for this year. I have enjoyed or expect to enjoy each of them, doesnt mean they'll be great or up to par with past Hollywood blockbusters, but these movies seem to fit your a) category audience pretty well. I am pretty sure these movies will also be highly pirated, likely more so then any movies I can think of in your b) category target movies, and yet I'll bet funding for them was easier to get. And again, just because we may enjoy them, does not mean that Hollywood has not slacked off on them, and those reasons still have nothing to do with them being pirated

    8. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by mgblst · · Score: 1

      You are seeing the wrong movies then. Oh no, it can't be your fault can it, it must be someone elses....

    9. Re:Movies are loved by those who go to the theater by ryszard99 · · Score: 1

      (s)he doesnt know the movie is crap before (s)he sees it?

      --
      -- $_='ab-bc ratvarre';tr"'a-z'"'n-za-m'";print
  34. Torrentfreak or slashdot? by cliffski · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So has this site given up all pretence of being 'news for nerds' and become a side-project for the pirate bay now?

    Every story concerning piracy takes the pirates POV, every criticism of thepiratebay is brushed aside, and now top stories are new hollywood movies, complete with +5 modded links to copyrighted material.

    I thought bit-torrent was only used for free speech and linux distros?

    +5 hyprocrites

    --
    DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
    1. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    2. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by cliffski · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wow, hip young trendy kid!
      I didn't realise that being able to torrent Hollywood movies was the most important thing the world for nerds.
      Has it ever occurred to you that some nerds really don't mind so much paying for music, software and games that they want to use and enjoy?
      In fact, nerds should be paying for software more than anyone, because we appreciate the effort involved in its production.

      You are confusing nerds with "kids who know how to use a PC."

      --
      DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
    3. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by maxume · · Score: 2, Insightful

      By posting, did you make yourself part of the solely pro Pirate Bay viewpoint that you posted about?

      +4 Oops.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    4. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by Tikkun · · Score: 1

      Every story concerning piracy takes the pirates POV

      This isn't piracy (no one is selling it at the moment, AFAIK). It's copyright infringement.

    5. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by MonkWB · · Score: 1

      You are confusing nerds with "kids who know how to use a PC."

      I always thought they were one in the same.

    6. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by citylivin · · Score: 1

      "Has it ever occurred to you that some nerds really don't mind so much paying for music, software and games that they want to use and enjoy?"

      Really? I personally torrent TV to strip out the ads which are toxic. Kind of like paying for lead laced water in the shop, using their own proprietary bottles, or going down to a near by stream and collecting pure water on your own. I really don't care who has already been paid and by whom. The content has been commissioned and generated by someone, its not up to me to fund them. If they are unhappy with people torrenting their movies, they are free not to produce them. There is certainly no LACK of content, especially on the internet. People often produce full length TV shows, movies etc for free or very low budgets. Why would they do that? because they want to be heard, to tell a story, to communicate with others.

      It use to be that stories, which is all that music movies and games really are, were about the content. Telling a story is about the communication of ideas. Now the internet comes along and tears down all these artifical barriers to communication that have been set up over the last few hundred years. All content producers will have to adapt or die - this is reality. Some adapt by locking things down, and some by opening them up.

      I would personally argue that opening up communication channels results in better content, be it software movies or what have you. I realize that you are a for profit software developer, but you need to think of the future a bit more, and your current bottom line a bit less.

      The next big revolution will come when someone creates a nano assembler, or nano forge. Good bye resource scarcity! That is if we set the legal and cultural precedents now. Otherwise, when you can build anything from sand, you won't be allowed to because of artificial controls. The current paradigm, projected 30 or so years into the future, sees a chosen few profit, while the others starve in the streets because they don't have the money for rice 'patterns' or 'source code'. These technologies that humans develop, such as bittorrent, will always be challenged by the old guard who want to remain firmly in control. Mass media is a very good control, just look at radio in the USA.

      You are worrying over a bit of short term profit, instead of worrying about the rights of humankind 50 or 100 years down the road. Stallman says alot of crap, but people have already lost far too many rights in the service of protecting corporate profit and greed. Artists, real artists, will always produce. The same as real tool makers. It is a wonderful thing seeing an idea in your head come to life in the real world. That is a quality of humans that will not dissipate.

      --
      As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy
    7. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by kv9 · · Score: 1

      So has this site given up all pretence of being 'news for nerds' and become a side-project for the pirate bay now?

      get out, narc!

    8. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by despisethesun · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, this is news for nerds. It concerns a comic book to movie adaptation, subject matter that is particularly popular among nerds, and peer-to-peer file sharing, a topic with technological and legal elements which many nerds find interesting. Given that the movie which leaked is expected to be a major summer blockbuster, this is definitely news. That makes this "news for nerds". Just because you don't like it, that doesn't necessarily mean it has no place at Slashdot.

      That torrent link probably shouldn't have been posted here, though.

      --
      This poo is cold.
    9. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by swilver · · Score: 1

      Wow, nice try! I like how you twisted that from movies/music to software! Then again, I couldn't care less if someone pirates my software, being a smart nerd, I get paid by the hour.

    10. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

      Heaven forbid people be allowed to have opinions on this site that disagree with you. Please read up on how moderation works - if someone gets modded up, how is that a decision by the site?

      Every story concerning piracy takes the pirates POV, every criticism of thepiratebay is brushed aside

      Links to examples, please?

      and now top stories are new hollywood movies

      I see only one other story on movies or P2P.

      complete with +5 modded links to copyrighted material.

      It's +5 informative, which seems entirely fair. That moderation doesn't mean his opinion is good or bad, it's simply noting that he's supplying information. What's your point?

      I thought bit-torrent was only used for free speech and linux distros?

      +5 hyprocrites

      +5 straw man

    11. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by mdwh2 · · Score: 1

      Not sure what that's got to do with anything. I do pay for the TV that I bittorrent.

    12. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by shellbeach · · Score: 1

      In fact, nerds should be paying for software more than anyone, because we appreciate the effort involved in its production.

      Uh, no ... real nerds use OSS, and code to contribute back to the community. They like giving stuff they've created away for free. (You did realise you were posting to /., didn't you?)

      So to use your analogy, we should all be creating open-source movies. Probably couldn't be much worse than "Wolverine", I'm guessing, if we did ...

    13. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't care for this flick, but if it were another I might have downloaded it.

      The value for this to a geek is that it is a rare chance to see behind the curtain of a blockbuster from a beloved franchise. It is a special opportunity. I you love this character and, say, collect merchandise or own every film, then this would be very tempting.

      It is like the reverse of a Director's Cut. It's fascinating to see itt with roughed in cgi, greenscreens, and wires. In fact, just writing this, i have convinced myself to go ahead and watch it. Knowing how this stuff is put together is fascinating.

      I doubt you're reall a nerd or a geek. It sounds more like you're a crotchety employee somewhere in Cali.

    14. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by cliffski · · Score: 1

      "I really don't care who has already been paid and by whom. The content has been commissioned and generated by someone, its not up to me to fund them"

      What drivel.
      Read it back and try and keep a straight face.
      "I don't care who paid to have a ferrari made. its in the garage, so I'm swiping it"

      Makes about as much moral sense doesn't it?

      --
      DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
    15. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by cliffski · · Score: 1

      feel free. Nobody gives a fuck about people torrenting home made and free movies. How is this vaguely relevant to stealing Hollywoods output?

      --
      DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
    16. Re:Torrentfreak or slashdot? by cliffski · · Score: 1

      By who?
      Unless your employer is the government, their money comes from selling software licenses. You DID understand that your salary actually comes from people paying for software right?

      --
      DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
  35. Two things by Weaselmancer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First. I agree with the OP and the BBC. How the hell does this get some sort of express FBI coverage? It's a freaking movie. Not a bomb threat or a kidnapping. So some sweaty fanboy snagged a pre-release copy. So freaking what?

    It's sickening how the government will instantly bend over backwards for big business. Pathetic.

    Second thing.

    But it is reasonable to pursue something like this, because realistically a work print this early will drive down sales in a major way costing the producers millions, easily.

    Prove it.

    How do you know this won't work like an extended commercial, drumming up interest? Studies have shown that people who illegally download music also happen to spend more on music than other people.

    The FBI may be trying to bust someone who helped, rather than harmed the studio.

    The main problem with crap like this is how do you assess damage? We all know that it's possible to skew the numbers in such a way that a single mp3 download is equal to either thousands of hours worth of free advertising, or thousands of dollars worth of lost sales.

    Until someone resolves that debate, you really can't call this anything more than a single copyright violation. And certainly not worthy of anything more than a raised eyebrow from the FBI, rather than this gigantic government funded reacharound they're giving the MPAA.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:Two things by RabidMoose · · Score: 1

      It's sickening how the government will instantly bend over backwards for big business. Pathetic.

      Big Business is to Government, as Hot Chick is to Sweaty Fanboy

  36. Re:FBI Resources - Yes they too are understaffed. by brufar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You should get to know your local FBI agents, you will get a better feel for the cases they work. you might change your opinion when you see the variety of different cases they pursue. Join a local chapter of Infragard so you can become informed. Most interesting are the sessions where they break down a case from beginning to end, explaining how and why they got involved, the course of the investigation, and how they closed the case. FBI Agent even have a pretty good sense of humor believe it or not..

    Here in Cleveland they DO go after political corruption (The number of local raids this year has been astonishing), Child porn, Computer based Crimes, the list goes on and on.. The decision to accept or not accept a case is sometimes determined by the Financial losses incurred, Of course that criteria would not apply to all types of crimes.

    I hope you aren't basing your opinion off of how the FBI is portrayed on television and in the movies. If so then maybe you believe Wolverine is a real person too...

    --
    far...out
  37. Clarification needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Please define "fair wage"

    Also, I think you're attempting to be sarcastic, but it occurred to me that your sarcasm is itself sarcastic, and the literal meaning is the one you really intended.

    Please clarify that as well.

  38. Spoiler Warning: Save your money. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I understand that it's not easy making a movie about such an iconic character, and that there are thousands of comic nerds out there that will be comparing the movie to the original books. That being said, this is the worst movie I've seen come from Marvel Studios. While it's true the CGI isn't finished, there's no amount of CGI you can add to make the story better, or the acting more believable. The story is trash. The action scenes (if you can call them that) make about 10% of this movie. The rest is bogus dialogue, and Wolverine just wondering around aimlessly. The acting is poor. Expecting this movie to be at the level of the previous X-Men movies would be a mistake. In fact, pick the worst Marvel movies thus far- (Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Punisher?)- all three of those beat Wolverine: Origins hands-down. Forget the theaters- this movie isn't even worth torrenting.

  39. Felonious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    iirc, downloading a movie prior to its release date is now considered to be a felony. Have fun in "pound you in the ass" prison, and oh...don't drop the soap. ;)

    1. Re:Felonious by Tuoqui · · Score: 1

      Only if you live in the US... Maybe.

      --
      09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
      +2 Troll is Slashdot's way of saying groupthink is confused
  40. Guess I'm a bit weird by ImRoadKill2 · · Score: 1

    Let me just start out with I had NO intention on watching the movie AT ALL in the movie theaters.

    A friend of mine managed to snag a copy of the movie and we watched it on tv. I must say I was so impressed with the movie and just seeing the special effects they added and seeing the CG not complete and everything peaked my curiosity.

    Just watching everything bumped this movie to the top of my list to watch when it comes out!

  41. FBI? by Thaelon · · Score: 1

    The FBI is investigating this, why?

    Do they have nothing better to do?

    You'd think this kind of PR would be good for the movie.

    --

    Question everything

    1. Re:FBI? by geekoid · · Score: 1

      it's across state lines and over 5G. However that doesn't really matter. The question is: "What priority is the FBI giving this?"

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  42. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  43. Conflickerine by gmuslera · · Score: 1

    Maybe the whole point of Conflicker was to steal and spread that movie (ok, maybe others too) or was a side effect of it (behold the power of dark google ) and maybe the origin of the leak is unaware of it.

  44. This is important by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

    HOW exactly is this important, or meaningful?  Almost nothing good comes out of Hollywood anyway, and this certainly doesn't look like anything good. 

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  45. The solution: Animation! by jbacon · · Score: 1

    I agree completely about Hollywood quality. However, you're missing the obvious workaround: animation studios! It's almost universally original work, and always good. Literally everything that Pixar has produced has been excellent (though I don't see a way to top WALL-E, I'm sure they can do it). Dreamworks has been a bit disappointing since Shrek, but I'm sure they'll pull out of the slump.

    Honestly, Coraline has been the best movie this year and most of last, in my not-so-humble opinion. If you haven't seen it yet, go do it. Though I guess it's still a Hollywood production, Henry Selick isn't exactly a typical guy.

    Or, you could just watch indie films. Hell, Slumdog Millionaire took most of last year's awards, and there are plenty of awesome releases lately, like Let the Right One In (dubs suck, watch it with subs).

  46. leaking this is criminal not civil by DragonTHC · · Score: 1

    This is considered corporate espionage instead of piracy. The work print was unreleased and therefore considered intellectual property and not copyrighted.

    I know it is strange for the law to be so wonky in this area. This is why we need copyright reform.

    We need new forms of copyright written into law by smart men who want the best compromise for all parties involved; not written by greedy lawyers trying to horde money.

    We need to regulate what is essentially industry protectionism.

    We need a digital copyright which covers both a checksum/hash and a similarity comparison test for visual works.

    We need new rules on how long you can hold a copyright and what happens in the limbo between copyrighted and public domain.

    --
    They're using their grammar skills there.
  47. On TV by realsilly · · Score: 1

    I could swear I saw it on TV as an Ad yesterday. It looked cool.

    --
    Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
  48. wonderful by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    why feel alone in an intimate setting when you can feel alone in a cavernous setting?

    (rolls eyes)

    movie houses are going nowhere. nothing replaces the subliminal camraderie of a movie house that heightens the movie going experience. in spite of the babies and the cell phones

    go ahead and deny that. they've been announcing the death of the movie house for 50 years. all the while, receipts have climbed

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:wonderful by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      > why feel alone in an intimate setting when you can feel alone in a cavernous setting?

      Oh, that's cute. He thinks that suburbanites don't have friends or family.

      The same people that you would go to the GooglePlex with are the same people you would have in your home theatre or family room.

      The rest are either invisible or should be.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    2. Re:wonderful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      all the while, receipts have climbed

      So have the ticket prices. When I was in high school, taking my date for dinner and a movie and snacks could be had for under $20. These days that $20 barely covers ticket prices.

  49. dark knight boat scene... by big_paul76 · · Score: 1

    Am I the only one who spent the boat scene thinking "why the hell did they not push the button yet?"?

    I don't know about you guys, but in that situation, I'd pushed that button as fast as I possibly can, and then argue about it, expecting the same reaction from the other side as well.

    I was half-expecting someone to push the button, and it turns out that the joker had lied, and the button actually blows up _your_ boat, (or both boats) not the other guys.

    Like that parable about the 2 foreign monks that are visiting Vlad the Impaler. Vlad, (knowing that he's hated and feared by his subjects) asks each monk, separately what the people think of their ruler.

    One monk, knowing what a murderous psycho he is, is terrified of telling the truth and displeasing the ruler, so he lies to flatter him. The other monk tells the complete and un-varnished truth.

    In the morning, Vlad had _one_ of the monks executed, but which one?

    --
    The plural form of "anecdote" is "anecdotes", not "evidence".
    1. Re:dark knight boat scene... by Jurily · · Score: 1

      I was half-expecting someone to push the button, and it turns out that the joker had lied, and the button actually blows up _your_ boat, (or both boats) not the other guys.

      That's an option, yes, but nobody raises that question in the film, so they fucked up that explanation as well. It would have been so much more elegant to say "I don't want to blow myself up" and let Batman save everyone than that artificial stupidity on both boats.

      Realistic outcome if you're too slow:
      "Let's vote!" "Okay, I have a pen and a pa-" *BOOM*

    2. Re:dark knight boat scene... by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      Does it matter?

  50. Review!? by codepigeon · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ok, how bout a review? Surely someone here has watched it.

    1. Re:Review!? by Cormophyte · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's a summer blockbuster without any finished CGI (and missing most of the half-finished stuff, too), close to no color grading, and missing a lot of the foley. Since a lot of this was shot in the controlled environment of a sound stage that means you're constantly put off balance by the lack of life in the film because a team of professionals haven't added back in what could have been there in the first place but isn't because it's much...much easier to add effects to it later if there's no surprises.

      It's also lacking much of a plot, the characters lack any motivation for what they do and tend to go off on wild unhinged killing sprees simply to give them something to slash or shoot leaving you thinking "Umm, why did that just happen?" most of the time. The best thing I can say about it is that the stunt men are well trained and skilled at what they do.

      I'm sure the final cut will have lots of nice explosions, though.

  51. the saturation point by sowth · · Score: 1

    The saturation point is when Hollywood bankrupts itself on all these high budget piece of crap movies targeted for children and teenagers, then asks the government for a massive bailout larger than AIG's because of "piracy".

    I think most people would be more satisfied with lower budget movies, but put more thought into them. Hollywood focuses on special effects and the lowest common denominator so much, they don't think about much else.

  52. MININOVA by Digital_Mercenary · · Score: 0

    I saw it listed on mininova from several people. When I checked the comments page I found out it was not the complete film. Not really worht it. I'll just wait for the camvid.

    -DM

  53. Oh no the MPAA is "investigating"... by Gonrada · · Score: 0

    Both the FBI and the Motion Picture Association of America are "actively investigating" the crime.

    Oh no the MPAA is "investigating"...
    That is like saying Al Gore is "investigating"... Scary!
    But really what the hell is a Lobbying group investigating for? Someone really needs to tell them that they aren't a government agency.

    --
    What the hell is Karma and why is mine always "Bad"
  54. trying to remove something from the internet... by big_paul76 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I can't remember where I heard the joke that "trying to take something off of the internet is like trying to get pee out of a swimming pool".

    --
    The plural form of "anecdote" is "anecdotes", not "evidence".
  55. I, like many others, go see more movies in theater by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...now that there is also reliable ways to watch movies on the Internet.

    I was a book reader primarily until, way way back, there was this program called Napster that came out. That got me hooked on music more, I listened to more, listened to my radio more (so was exposed to more ads). Then it went away thanks to groups like Metallica, and some zombified version of it lurched into it's place. I don't listen to my radio anymore for music.. primarily listen to it for news now.

    Then I started using this other program that allowed me to view movies. Think it was called Morpheus. That got me interested in movies again. Before that, I was probably a 125 book a year guy, now I'm down to maybe 10 books a year. Don't use Morpheus anymore, but am planning on catching Watchmen before it leaves the theater. That would be the 5th movie I'll have seen in the theater this year.

    Conclusion? One of two.. either watching movies and listening to music made me dumber, or allowing me to access media online made me more interested in seeing movies in the theater and seeing bands live.

    We need to abandon the old fossilised means of getting movies and music out there, give more cash to the artists, and start drying up these multitiered systems and turn it into makerdistributorcustomer. Cheaper for the consumer, more profitable for the distributor, and more cash for those who make the media in the first place.

  56. What I've never heard anyone say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...is that even though these things aren't free to make and if a lot more people pirated films the production companies would go bankrupt and stop making movies, would we really care?

    Would all movies cease production?
    No.

    Would films still make absurd amounts of money?
    No, but who says they have to in the first place?

    Would people still pay enough money for the quality filmmakers out there to make enough to live and continue making movies?
    Probably.

    Would all the idiot producers and executives who don't know the first thing about making quality films that exercise the imagination and do more than just push the boundaries of what After Effects can do leave the business and go back to being accountants or wire salesmen or whatever the hell they're better suited to and leave the creative process to the creative people because there isn't a mind-boggling paycheck attached to it?
    Yeah.

    These days everyone pirates movies and music, all the way up and down the age range. It's not the older demographics that started this whole internet pirating thing, though. It's the younger folks with no money of their own and nothing better to do on a wednesday night than download LOTR that made it popular. It's that high profit young crowd the studios are afraid of losing, not the older crowd who actually have a clue of what a good film is. (Hint: none of the X-Men films qualify)

    People with money will still support films they want to see because they can't be bothered downloading it. The gears might grind a little slower, international distribution deals might be smaller or might not exist, but who cares.

    And if there isn't as much research money for producing our future 55' LCD wall displays with fulltime Surround Smell technology, maybe that's worth not having to sit through another crappy summer blockbuster.

    Best of all, maybe Uwe Boll will finally stop making movies.

  57. Interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This means that here is another movie that I can see at home without bothering to go to a theater if I want. Most people find camera versions really awful and not very watchable. They might be OK if you wanted to see the movie and go to the theater anyway later.

    I however think that most people want to see movies once. Maybe twice. If I am going to spend my time to watch it, it needs to be better than some shaky cam version with bad sound. So this being almost certainly a direct digital version it is going to be of acceptable quality.

    The key with piracy is that the pirated materials are going to just keep getting better and better all the time. Already in some cases pirated materials exceed the usability of the original. We will likely see pirated materials being of equal quality to what you could buy fairly soon.

    This pretty much means the end of the argument that people are going to try before buying but still buy to get a quality product. Now the finished DVD version of this movie might be better than what you can download today, but today you can have it, watch is the required one or two times and be done with it - for FREE. By de-monetizing this product the pirates move one step closer to removing the possibility for any revenue to be obtained from digital materials.

  58. wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not surprised that some poor schmuck has displayed their lack of common sense.

    And since I don't really care for the theater experience anymore, I'll wait until it's out on DVD then consider renting or buying it.

    Most of the stuff they pump out in the theater is pretty sad, retreaded stuff.

  59. The trick with old actors by phorm · · Score: 1

    Is that age tends to weed out the those with more "beauty than talent."

    Give it a decade or two, and the "pretty faces" have for the most-part faded off, and more of those with actual talent (or good connections) are left.

    The current generated of "pretty faces" just hasn't had enough time to be trimmed down yet.

  60. Even better solution by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 1

    Try an app called "thepiratebay", they pre-shrink it for you, removing all the unwanted bits and it don't cost you a dime. Amazing!

    Sadly, there service is not always spot on and sometimes you get a full release they missed and you have to deal with all the annoyances yourself. I wish the movie companies would work closer together with the piratebay so we customers can get our product the way we want it.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

    1. Re:Even better solution by furby076 · · Score: 1

      I wish the movie companies would work closer together with the piratebay so we customers can get our product the way we want it.

      You mean free?

      --

      I do not support "The Man". I also do not support your irrational stupidity
    2. Re:Even better solution by djp928 · · Score: 1

      Yes, I believe that's exactly what he means. "Give me things for free" is after all the battle cry of the new generation!

  61. You really think so? by Weaselmancer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here, go read this: War is a Racket, by Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC.

    And before you think he's some kind of whacko, know that he is a two time recipient of the Medal of Honor. Here's a quote from him:

    "I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

    That whole liberty and justice thing we're so proud of? That only lasted about fifty years in and was sacrificed to capitalism a long long time ago.

    If I'm wrong, then why is this guy who is guilty of a single charge of copyright violation being hunted down by the FBI like a serial killer over some trumped up notion of potential lost profits? Anyone else commits copyright violation and the FBI wouldn't give them more than a raised eyebrow. I'll bet there are a dozen teenagers on my block right now who've done it hundreds of times. And strangely enough, the FBI is not pursuing them.

    I mean, when a judge is passing sentence on a murderer, do they take time out to figure out how much money the victim might have contributed during his lifetime before they pass sentence? Of course not. So why the urgency with this guy? Because he pissed off a money making machine, that's why. Capitalism is offended, and we don't allow that no sir! And that's why they're going to absolutely crucify this poor bastard when they catch him.

    It's unequal justice, and evidence that our government cares far more for big business (and the tax money it generates) than it cares for us.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
    1. Re:You really think so? by RabidMoose · · Score: 1

      Will definately check that out when I get home (lerex.com is blocked as a "shopping" site at work). If I hadn't already commented on this article, I'd be modding you up right now.

      In a just society, whoever leaked the film would lose their job, and not much (if anything) else. Unless, of course, this is an attempt at a "reverse Streisand" marketing move. In that case, genius move 20th Century Fox. You just garnered yourselves an untold wealth of free word-of-mouth, for a pretty damn good movie (not that I'd know...). This leak, weather by rogue employee or smart marketing team, will increase the box office receipts for the movie.

  62. What's the point? by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 1

    you know the only decent thing in this film will be the special effects, and they are all missing from this. Only a dumbass would watch it, you will just spoil it for yourself, wait for the finished version fools.

  63. As usual ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is all the fault of camcording pirates!

    Errr... people circumventing the DRM on DVDs at home!

    Errr... [talking very quietly], um, I mean people working for the movie studios themselves.

  64. Google has been doing it... by teko_teko · · Score: 1

    Yep, you missed it.

    For the first and only time, something that has "leaked" to the internet has been completely and utterly removed from it. You need to be quicker next time.

    You're wrong.

    Google has been doing this since a couple of weeks ago with their Gmail's Undo sent mail. When you Undo a sent mail, Google will stop the internet, grab your email from its recipient, then resumes the internet!

  65. Its crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dont bother going to see it, not worth the film it was shat on

  66. New trend in marketing? by BurzumNazgul · · Score: 1

    I had pretty much forgotten they were making a prequel. Leaking incomplete or small portions of a movie might actually be a good way of getting media coverage. Then you can sue your fans. It's the only marketing campaign that pays you!

    --
    I can say [REDACTED] anytime I want!
  67. Stretching your entertainment dollar by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Poor food, poor seats, poor video quality, and most of all poor company.

    True in many cinemas but definitely not all. I've been to some pretty cool ones that serve you decent food in your seat, have comfy chairs, and very cool crowds. Plus the blu-ray can't be any better quality than the film the movie is recorded on so it's not clear to me what your logic is for that complaint.

    The only advantage cinemas still retain over my living room is their sound systems,

    Somehow I doubt you have a movie theater sized screen in your living room. Methinks you might be missing one rather significant difference between your living room and the cinema...

    If you don't think the cinema is providing a good value that's cool but just say so without all the angst. The cinema DOES provide a few things that are hard to get at home. Whether you think those things are worth it is another matter. The cinema is expensive and I totally respect folks thinking it is overpriced.

    1. Re:Stretching your entertainment dollar by Kandenshi · · Score: 1

      "Plus the blu-ray can't be any better quality than the film the movie is recorded on so it's not clear to me what your logic is for that complaint."

      This assumes that the theatre staff are able to focus their projector properly. Most do a very good job of this. Some do not.

  68. no worries, Marvel! by SethJohnson · · Score: 1



    I'm just a popcorn eater. I went to see the X-Men 3 movie a couple summers ago at the drive-in in Tulsa, Ok. Your idiot comic book characters spent the first 15 minutes of the movie planning a wedding or some such shit.

    You have nothing to worry about here. I won't download this leaked copy and I won't purchase a ticket to any future installments.

    Seth

  69. Why does /. do free marketing for the MPAA ? by coretx · · Score: 1

    Films get leaked every day!

  70. We watched it last night by Mc_Anthony · · Score: 1

    My girlfriend and I watched it last night and sadly, the movie is not very good at all. Besides the unfinished effects, which make the film look like a Saturday morning kids production - or something the BBC would make (Dr. Who production quality) - the acting is dull, the plot is weak and the character development is very poor.

    I'm sure the film will look much better in it's finished form - but I doubt cgi will make up for the rest of the movies problems.

    1. Re:We watched it last night by mjwx · · Score: 1

      (Dr. Who production quality)

      You mean there was an engaging story, at least one decent actor and the movie had a sense of humour. I may be a bit of a cynic but I cant believe that is even possible from hollywood.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  71. As long as it's Natalie's bowl of hot gritz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've heard the ceremonies have dilated her to accomodate the 20" x 6" statue of my 3.14" penis. I drive a H2 BTW.

  72. Dallas? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's theory that this is linked to a data center being taken down by the FBI in Dallas this morning.

    http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/wfaa090402_lj_fbi.96b29611.html

  73. First leak then sue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i hope there's no xxAA scheme behind this

  74. Lulz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's sit back and watch the goon-squad chase invisible bits and bytes, cause someone in Hollywood is going WAAAAA WAAAA.. LOL

    1. Re:Lulz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't you have some tentacle porn to watch?

  75. It COULD drive sale down by aepervius · · Score: 1

    If people by word of mouth start to spread the story is crappy, the dialogue corny, and laughable, etc.... then it might sink the movie before anybody see it. Then OTOH it would sink the same way by word of mouth after the first few day, but one month bnefore release it might be in a state which could make a good movie or an average one worst than it would be if finished.

    --
    C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
    visit randi.org
    1. Re:It COULD drive sale down by Weaselmancer · · Score: 1

      It's interesting you bring up that point. Yes, if the movie sucks then having people preview that for free would drive the sales down.

      But I'd love to see the studio try to defend that point.

      "We made this awful movie, but because people found out it was awful before going to the theaters we didn't make any money on it."

      I think the judge would most likely say "why not make good movies then?"

      It's odd that simply kicking the tires before you buy something is somehow a threat, isn't it?

      --
      Weaselmancer
      rediculous.
  76. Origin of "cat's out of the bag". by coxymla · · Score: 1
    I can't remember where I read this, it might have been in a Reader's Digest in the dentist's or something like that so take it with as much salt as desired.

    Medieval grifter peasants would try to sell pigs (quite a valuable animal) in an alley or whatever for a cheap price, but the trick was that the animal itself was ensconced in a sack, and was actually a cat to boot. A bit like the speakers for sale out of the back of a white van.

    Anyway, if you were smart enough to open the sack right there then "the cat's out of the bag" and presumably you bludgeon the grifter with your cudgel and get your sixpence back.

  77. Marvel's "Crack" Series. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe, but it's no win for those who champion piracy either. At best pirates come off as popular culture crack whores who couldn't say no and have the downloads to prove it. At worst it demolishes a couple lies that people use to justify the act. e.g. "But copyright's too long".

  78. Hostel II: no great loss by vaporland · · Score: 1

    maybe the turnout for that was low because it suxed

    --
    Ask Me About... The 80's!
  79. pragmatics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it is ridiculous to think people would start buying poorly designed products like movies on DVDs. why would they do that? p2p file sharing is a better product - and how could anybody care if some rich multinational corporation doesn't get the money? i absolutely don't care - if they run out of money the government will bail them out with our taxes anyway...

  80. "Which is it?" by circletimessquare · · Score: 1

    why does there have to be a choice?

    the people who download films are not automatically people who would go to the movie house had downloading not been an option for them

    you've presented a false dichotomy. the people who download movies are not automatically people who previously would have seen the movie in a movie house. not even most of them

    "would you pay $10 to see this?"

    "no"

    "would you watch it for free in your den?"

    "yes"

    that's the majority of downloaders

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it