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New Film 'Zenith' Now Available For Free BitTorrent Download

Posted by timothy on from the for-people-with-better-connections-than-mine dept.

airfoobar writes "This seems like a good week for libre culture. The first part of an surprisingly well-made cyberpunk thriller called Zenith has just been released as a torrent download through Vodo, and the third episode of Pioneer One is being released on the 28th."

79 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. Preview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V26bJN3KkY4

    1. Re:Preview by gedankenhoren · · Score: 5, Informative

      Nice equipment and editing, quite poor dialogue/acting, though:

      [pained, confused]: "Why did you take me here?"

      [rapidly and without emotion, as a fast-paced intonation]: "I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry"

      [teenage angst]: "Can you at least look at me like you really mean it?"

      [customer support]: "I'm sorry."

    2. Re:Preview by tobiah · · Score: 1

      I think the acting is spot on for what they are trying to portray; people who only know artificial emotions (genetically manipulated or drug-induced). Looks very professional to me. Pacing is a bit slow, but I'll give it a shot.

      --
      "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
    3. Re:Preview by iluvcapra · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The equipment is the easy part. The prices for facilities and equipment have been very quickly approaching the marginal cost -- if you can get skilled people to donate time you're in.

      Competent writing, acting, directing and producing are much trickier.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    4. Re:Preview by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nice equipment and editing, quite poor dialogue/acting, though:

      That formula worked pretty well for George Lucas.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    5. Re:Preview by gedankenhoren · · Score: 2

      This is true. But it doesn't cost a fortune to make a good film; see Fassbinder's Marta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_(1974_film), or really any of his - they were made on a budget, but the acting was phenomenal). In today's dollars (according to some perhaps shaky assumptions re the equivalence of DM and USD inflation rates between 1974-2009, and these sites: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi and http://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/exchangeglobal/result.php), Marta cost ~$833076 2009 USD. I can't find any information about Zenith's cost, but even ~$900,000 USD is not out of reach for an ambitious (and talented) (outsider) director.

    6. Re:Preview by MoonBuggy · · Score: 1

      I thought that was deliberate - especially the lack of sincerity when she looks at him; as another poster pointed out, it would fit well within the society they're trying to portray. There's also the fact that the male lead's acting is good, so I'd be surprised if they got a female lead that poor.

    7. Re:Preview by gedankenhoren · · Score: 1
      An even better example is Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071141/), which has arguably better (=more dynamic) acting than my previous Fassbinder example, Marta, and which cost only $267,694 2009 USD, though that may be due to the fact that:

      [t]he prices for facilities and equipment have been very quickly approaching the marginal cost

      I'm interested to see some data re the breakdown between fac./equip. costs and actors/writers/directors/producers/fluffers costs...

    8. Re:Preview by MoonBuggy · · Score: 1

      I think the acting is spot on for what they are trying to portray; people who only know artificial emotions (genetically manipulated or drug-induced).

      Absolutely agreed. For those who just watched the YouTube link: it cuts in about a third of the way through without context, and having watched the whole thing the acting actually seems pretty damn good, so I'd recommend giving it a chance from the start.

    9. Re:Preview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      To be fair, that reply should be conditioned on whether parent is referring to the original episodes or to the jar jar episodes.

    10. Re:Preview by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: 1

      You are out of touch with Reality. It says in the site they are looking to collect 10k.

      Let me remind you, El Mariachi was made with 7k.

      --
      WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
    11. Re:Preview by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      What do you expect from a copypasta troll?

    12. Re:Preview by hedwards · · Score: 1

      A lot of it depends upon the creativity of the crew in terms of costume and set design. Corman was a master when it came to making sets look really expensive while spending practically nothing on it. And take a look at what Mel Bibby was able to do towards the end of the Red Dwarf series. There was basically no increase in set allowance, but each season the sets looked better and better, and it wasn't just a matter of less to do.

    13. Re:Preview by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Kids, I hope you can see now why it might not be such a great idea to cut your Ritalin with crack cocaine...

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    14. Re:Preview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      A million may be pocket change for you, but for most people it isn't. Primer was made with $7k, and is damn good.

    15. Re:Preview by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      Let me remind you, El Mariachi was made with 7k.

      El Mariachi was shot for $7k, but after Sony picked up the negative they spent half a million on sound work, editing, opticals, prints and advertising.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    16. Re:Preview by Professr3 · · Score: 1

      I think he's just mad because "Dumb Jack" is infringing on the trademark this guy took out on his own name.

    17. Re:Preview by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Watch the whole thing and you might get why the dialogue is that way. The film is set in a dystopian future where people are unable to feel anything and incapable of communicating using anything other than polite niceties. These two are slowly awakening from that state.

    18. Re:Preview by whatever3003 · · Score: 1

      Thanks for that link - I was quite impressed (and that's a bit hard to do these days). On the strength of that I donated and and am downloading it in it's entirety.

      I hope they make their 40K goal.

      --
      "Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing." -- Salvador Dali
    19. Re:Preview by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      I'll give a $25 donation if it's good...even if it does require me to use Paypal as a credit card processor, buncha crooks.

      $50, maaaybe if it's a really awesome movie...but not over that so I hope some $25 slots are open when I'm done watching.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    20. Re:Preview by Jonah+Hex · · Score: 1

      Being a bit of a critic when it comes to acting/etc, I'd say the acting in this one is very good especially as they are trying to portray altered emotional states. Even the scenes of him experiencing pain are not over the top but come across as realistic. But mainly I wanted to reply since your the first comment to mention it being a dystopian future, which is what I feel describes it better than cyberpunk.

      HEX

      --
      Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
    21. Re:Preview by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Poor lighting, acting, and writing always give away an amateur production. Amateurs always think that a good camera, snappy editing, and a copy of After Effects is all they really need to make a great movie or short.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    22. Re:Preview by cmdr_klarg · · Score: 2

      Nice equipment and editing, quite poor dialogue/acting, though:

      [pained, confused]: "Why did you take me here?"

      [rapidly and without emotion, as a fast-paced intonation]: "I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry"

      [teenage angst]: "Can you at least look at me like you really mean it?"

      [customer support]: "I'm sorry."

      This review reminds me of a TV Guide review of Star Trek: Voyager back when it was in production. The reviewer had actually made it a point to criticize Tim Russ' "wooden and emotionless" portrayal of the Vulcan security officer Tuvok.

      --
      THE SOFTWARE, IT NO WORKY!!!
    23. Re:Preview by sulliwan · · Score: 1

      "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Cinema Purgatorio." Well that's rather ironic.

  2. Streaming by drb226 · · Score: 1

    We need to start pushing harder for torrent video streaming. Now would be a good time to, say, put these up on bitlet.

    1. Re:Streaming by drb226 · · Score: 1

      Well I tried, but it doesn't show the video for me. Work for anyone else? Stream Zenith Part 1 on bitlet

    2. Re:Streaming by BiggerIsBetter · · Score: 1

      Same. I got audio but no video (Windows 7, Java 6, x86_64)

      --
      Forget thrust, drag, lift and weight. Airplanes fly because of money.
  3. Love that this is taking off... by SomePgmr · · Score: 3, Informative

    This film, Pioneer One and The Tunnel are all doing this, and it makes it seem like this is a potentially workable model. I hope the "buy a frame" and selling of merchandise make it financially viable... I'd love to see this become the norm. I was more than happy to buy a few frames for The Tunnel... as the money goes straight to the movie makers, and it still cost me less than a single traditional rental.

    1. Re:Love that this is taking off... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      I hope the "buy a frame" and selling of merchandise make it financially viable...

      The problem with "buy a frame" and merch is that the movie doesn't actually have to be good -- it just has to have a script that reads well or a concept that markets merchandise well (viz. Snakes on a Plane). Once the filmmakers have the money they aren't under very much pressure to make a film that's successful, they're already in the black. This is a lot like what happened in the middle of the decade with foreign pre-sales of low-budget ($1-$10 million) films: a foreign distributor would agree to distribute a film and pay a fee, sight unseen, as long as the film had a particular lead American actor in it and the concept was easily marketed (an action film, or a crime drama). Once the producer had all the cash from the foreign distros their upside was covered and they were in the black, and all they had to do is the bare minimum to make the film watchable. This is how Battlefield: Earth was produced, among many other lesser films of the last 10 years.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    2. Re:Love that this is taking off... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What you are saying would be true if they only plan to create one film in their entire career. If their name comes to be associated with mediocrity, the next time they ask people to invest in their productions, their reputation will precede them!

    3. Re:Love that this is taking off... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      What you are saying would be true if they only plan to create one film in their entire career.

      Nobody plans to make a bad movie -- the real issue is that with such a funding model nobody would ever produce a good movie, or the movies that come out that are good are only good out of dumb luck. You're assuming that skill follows the man; I'm saying it's much sticker to the money.

      The fact that Uwe Boll made bad movies didn't seem to keep foreign copro money away from him, over and over and over. Instead of smart money finding the good filmmakers, the alternate equilibrium is much more likely: producers will simply find the dumbest money.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    4. Re:Love that this is taking off... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      And yet, even he was able to make a good film. Postal, was actually pretty good as far as films go, if only for the portion that he dedicates to mocking himself on camera. If he stopped taking his films so seriously and chose ones which were better suited for dark comedy, I think we'd have a different opinion of his talent.

    5. Re:Love that this is taking off... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      Postal, was actually pretty good as far as films go, if only for the portion that he dedicates to mocking himself on camera.

      Strangely enough, even if we accept arguendo that Postal was a good film, which is quite a stretch, it's done nothing to enhance his career, which would seem to prove my point.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    6. Re:Love that this is taking off... by MusedFable · · Score: 1

      The same problem applies when you decide to buy a movie ticket or dvd. You don't know how good the movie is but you've already paid.

  4. 6856 seeds 2993 peers by colenski · · Score: 2

    Down speed 3 megabit. ETA 1 hr for 720p. This model works. You just need enough people streaming legal content.

    1. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by crossmr · · Score: 3, Funny

      This model works.

      Downloads: 146939
      Donations so far: $246

      Sure does.

    2. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by Anthony+Mouse · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Downloads: 146939
      Donations so far: $246

      If you're expecting the number of dollars per person to be the same as it is for traditional distribution models, you're doing it wrong. It's econ 101 that when you set the price at zero, you get maximal demand, i.e. many downloads. This is especially true here because you get not only all the pirates who download without paying and claim it's because they wouldn't have paid anyway, but also all of the non-pirates who actually wouldn't have paid but decide that a legit free download is worth the look. All that really matters is how the total profit stacks up against what it would be under a traditional distribution model.

      Also: It was just released, no? Certainly it was just posted to Slashdot. Consider that some people may have downloaded it but haven't gotten around to watching and/or donating yet. We'll see how the numbers look in a day or two when that shakes out.

    3. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by Professr3 · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for the other two parts before I decide to donate. I probably will, though - it's one of the best "libre" films I've seen so far, though perhaps I'm a bit biased towards dystopian cyberpunk :D

    4. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Donations so far: $246

      Wow, that means even his mom didn't give much.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    5. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by crossmr · · Score: 1

      Ok
      Downloads: 251627
      Donations so far: $3312

      You're right. They're really raking it in.

    6. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by Anthony+Mouse · · Score: 1

      There are less than twice as many downloads as there were and now they've got more than ten times as much money as they had. It seems to me that I was right about people having downloaded but not donated yet by a factor of more than 500%.

      And if you want to argue that $3300 isn't a lot of money, all I'll say is that I wish I could make that much in two days.

    7. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by crossmr · · Score: 1

      Yes, and still not even 10% of their goal.

      a quarter million people and not 10% of their goal.
      It wasn't just one person making the money either. How many people worked on that project? To operate all the equipment, edit it, etc.
      According to IMDB I'm seeing over 120 names on the list.
      If 120 people can't make $3300 in 2 days, they're fairly incompetent.
      They could have done better at McDonalds.

      $13.75/day/person wow.. huge.
      an hour and a half at most McDonald's will get you that.

      No, nothing about this remotely works.
      Let's look at pioneer 1.
      Downloads this episode: 964912
      Donations this episode $16335

      As a running total for the series:
      Downloads: 1900646
      Donations: 917

      0.04% of all people donated.

      But the reality is, if these people had worked at a minimum wage job, they'd have more to show for their efforts. In fact if those 120 people had worked about a week's shift at a McDonald's they could have bankrolled the entire project.

    8. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by Anthony+Mouse · · Score: 1

      Their goal is to make $40,000, not to make $40,000 in two days. If they can maintain even half the current rate of donations for a month they'll more than meet their goal, and anything they make after that is gravy.

      0.04% of all people donated.

      Isn't that what I said in the first place? If you make it free then millions of people will download it. That has precisely nothing to do with how many of those people would have paid if you had charged money.

      But the reality is, if these people had worked at a minimum wage job, they'd have more to show for their efforts.

      I don't know about you, but I know which one I would rather have on my resume.

    9. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by crossmr · · Score: 1

      It's extremely unlikely that they'll maintain that pace for a month. They're unlikely to even maintain it over the next week.

      Look at pioneer 1 and how long it's been out.

      Episode 2 was released December 16. That's over 3 months ago, and they still haven't hit their funding goal for the second episode. Who knows if they made their goal for the first one (couldn't find that data).

      A resume is nice, food on the table is even better.

      it's nice you're optimistic, but the fact remains that this model certainly doesn't work. 3 months in and pioneer one hasn't broken even. That's a long time to go without a paycheque.

    10. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by Anthony+Mouse · · Score: 1

      The problem is that we don't know what would have happened under a traditional model. A large fraction of independent films fail to break even under the traditional model -- they get like five screens in obscure theaters and nobody shows up. The fact that the analogous thing can happen here too doesn't show that a movie with better writing and a real advertising budget would go the same way.

      Plus, this model is a little bit silly. It would work a lot better if they had it in theaters for money while they were distributing it for free on the internet -- people are way more likely to contribute if they get something (like a theater showing) in exchange for it, even where it is available for free elsewhere. Notice how people still go to theaters even if the movie is already on The Pirate Bay.

    11. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by crossmr · · Score: 1

      The problem is that this model doesn't work.
      Which is contrary to what the OP claimed.
      Just because you can get a movie fast, doesn't mean it works. I can get the latest hollywood flick off The Pirate Bay fast, doesn't mean it "works".

      A real advertising budget would increase the overhead. It would require they spend more money not just on advertising but production to justify it. Unless we're hoping that advertising this is suddenly going to spur a ton of money where they couldn't get out of 250,000 people, it won't do anything. We're still dealing with the fact that all the people who worked on this project could have gone out and taken a minimum wage job for a week and paid for the entire project.

    12. Re:6856 seeds 2993 peers by Anthony+Mouse · · Score: 1

      I can get the latest hollywood flick off The Pirate Bay fast, doesn't mean it "works".

      Depends what you mean. There is a serious question as to what effect a film being on TPB has on people going to theaters -- it's very difficult to measure. Do people watch movies using TPB instead of going to theaters, or does it being on TPB make more people aware of it so that more people go to theaters? Nobody really knows. The problem is that no two movies are the same, so you can't really have a control group unless you take a large sample of movies and put a random half of them on TPB and the other half not -- and then the other half ends up there anyway. But especially for more obscure films, it seems likely that the exposure would help far more than any amount of sales displacement could hurt -- because if you weren't going to make anything before then you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing something different.

      We're still dealing with the fact that all the people who worked on this project could have gone out and taken a minimum wage job for a week and paid for the entire project.

      I don't see why this is relevant? You have to make a decent movie if you want a return. If you can make a good movie on a low budget, great. If you can't, either you'll have to spend more to make it better or your movie is going to suck, nobody will want to pay for it and you won't make any money. It's a question of people -- some people can make a good movie on a low budget, but some people can't. Doesn't mean the ones who can't won't still try and fail, as we see every day in the independent film industry.

  5. But is it really good? by Troll-Under-D'Bridge · · Score: 3, Interesting

    surprisingly well-made

    Sounds like a synonym for mediocre but hey it's free. I have yet to watch TFE (the fine episode) because my torrent download rate is surprisingly slow. But reading through the comments at the VODO download page, assuming they aren't anonymous astroturfers, I get the feeling that it's actually good enough for broadcast TV. They'd probably be right if by such quality you mean either Paranormal Activity or the Blair Witch Project, a threshold you can easily reach with a well-written script, a good director and a dedicated cast.

    Sadly the better free beer movies I've watched appear to be fan-made movies (or movies produced without explicit permission from materials copyrighted by other people), e.g. The Hunt for Gollum.

    1. Re:But is it really good? by crossmr · · Score: 1

      You didn't, I was just saying if it was of truly great quality, it wouldn't be given away for free and donation begging.

    2. Re:But is it really good? by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily, perhaps for the crew that might be true, but there's a surprising amount of talent out there that hasn't for one reason or another been spotted. The reality is that only a very small fraction of actors, directors or writers ever get a shot in hollywood, and as a result, there's plenty of decent and even brilliant ones available for this sort of project.

      Unless you're connected, the chances of ever being seen is pretty small, you might luck out with an open casting call, but even there you're talking about only a fraction of a percent that succeed that way. And if you happen to have a bad day, you're screwed.

    3. Re:But is it really good? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a synonym for mediocre but hey it's free.

      So what? A mediocre film's a mediocre film whether it cost a hundred million or a hundred pounds to make, and whether it gets a billion or nothing at the box office.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    4. Re:But is it really good? by Troll-Under-D'Bridge · · Score: 1

      Besides the fact that few movies are still actually being made in Hollywood (California), the recorded entertainment market (to group all things that can be squished into optical media, and subsequently streamed, broadcast or file-shared) has expanded greatly since the turn of the millenium. So now you can get hit movies whose only or main connection to the large US entertainment companies is the distribution rights. And, hey, there are also large markets in other territories like India and Pacific Asia (Japan, Korea, etc), where actors, writers, and directors live, get rich, famous, laid, and die without having once had a successful US production.

  6. Fav comment by Nyder · · Score: 2

    Posted by madhouserevival 2011-03-19 05:06:22 Kudos UpDown
    Post reply

    Very smart, high quality production. Where did they find these unknown actors? They are as good as any on TV. As for the story, it's high brow and inventive. Had never heard of Vodo. Now I'm keeping my eyes on it as well as on Cinema Purgatorio.

    Where did they find these unknown actors? Hmm, 7 Billion peeps on the earth. a low budget film, not filmed by any big studios.

    ya, i wonder where they found unknown actors. I doubt it was from the various acting schools, colleges, drama schools that litter the earth.

    After all, there is like only 300 different actors/actresses in this world and anyone else that does something is non union or something, i'm sure.

    --
    Be seeing you...
  7. Only 30 minutes by Memroid · · Score: 1

    Although I turned it off after 13.

  8. Pioneer One ep1 was worth watching. by radarsat1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Downloading.. haven't watched the second yet (didn't know it was out) but the first episode was actually pretty intriguing. It pretty much had no effects, no stunt shots, just actors doing a good job of making us believe that something curious was happening.

    It's nice to see homegrown sci-fi being done, since I have no doubt they'll manage to at least equal or even best what we've been seeing out of the networks lately, minus their over-reliance on special effects to "wow" their audience. Good stories can be told without a big budget. Considering the absolutely terrible job that television has been doing lately at making science fiction, it really reinforces the notion that good stories require good writing, above and beyond anything else that goes into a show; although editing, direction, production, etc., are all important, good writing and good acting are more important, and it happens that if you find some good talent, these can be had at low cost if you're careful about how you run things. Often the best art is made under difficult budget constraints.

    1. Re:Pioneer One ep1 was worth watching. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Interesting, I haven't even watched the first one, I wanted to see if more would come out before I potentially got hooked (I did download it.) I can't see where to download the second one though, it looks like I have to use some streaming service that probably won't work on my crappy connection? So I guess I won't bother to watch the first one.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Pioneer One ep1 was worth watching. by Terrasque · · Score: 1

      Just click on "Download Torrent" in the upper right corner, and a dropdown will appear that holds all the releases in various formats.

      And if that's too complex, here are the direct links for 720p:

      http://vodo.net/assets/torrents/Pioneer.One.S01E01.REDUX.720p.x264-VODO.torrent
      http://vodo.net/assets/torrents/Pioneer.One.S01E02.720p.x264-VODO.torrent

      --
      It's The Golden Rule: "He who has the gold makes the rules."
    3. Re:Pioneer One ep1 was worth watching. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Just click on "Download Torrent" in the upper right corner, and a dropdown will appear that holds all the releases in various formats.

      Oh, I see what they did there. I have scripts turned off and they sent the href straight to download the first episode instead of a sub-page with multiple links. Thank you for the direct link, which I will use.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    4. Re:Pioneer One ep1 was worth watching. by Maestro485 · · Score: 1

      Considering the absolutely terrible job that television has been doing lately at making science fiction...

      You must have missed SyFy's Sharktopus .

  9. Good first Episode. by s0litaire · · Score: 1

    But has the same flaw as most of the shows like this, it's a bit slow, But at least they didn't fall back on badly done effect shots.
    Acting is good from the main cast. The others is a bit off (can't put my finger on it).

    Will watch the next episode (if they ever make it...)

    --
    Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
    1. Re:Good first Episode. by Professr3 · · Score: 1

      The pace is on par with A Clockwork Orange. I'm beginning to think it's just an inevitable part of the genre.

  10. Is anyone else geeking out... by calmofthestorm · · Score: 2

    at how the more slashdotters hit this the faster the downloads go for everyone, rather than the usual? No??...I may need a life...

    --
    93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
    1. Re:Is anyone else geeking out... by tobiah · · Score: 1

      Well, now I am. It's a good point really, with the great expense and effort large internet corporations are going through to build server farms capable of handling the load of their customers, that business model may be rendered obsolete by a smart small corporation which takes advantage of the bittorrent effect and delivers the same service for a fraction of the cost (to themselves). Something which could even be done with streams, which apparently the VODO firefox plugin does.

      --
      "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool" - Jane Wagner -
  11. "an surprisingly", aren't there editors? by nedlohs · · Score: 1

    Oh wait, silly me, I forgot where I was.

  12. don't use the youtube link, use the torrent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    the youtube link cynically removes the way you support the film

    use
    http://vodo.net/zenith

    c'mon they're already torrenting it, do you - youtube link maker - really have to stripe the way you support the film?

    1. Re:don't use the youtube link, use the torrent by Macrat · · Score: 1

      the youtube link cynically removes the way you support the film

      Most ISP's throttle P2P connections now.

      Watch it now on YouTube or wait for an overnight torrent download?

    2. Re:don't use the youtube link, use the torrent by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Watch it now on YouTube or wait for an overnight torrent download?

      Well I was debating whether to play this particular game, but you've decided me to torrent it and stream it for a few days.

      So, I go to the site, pick up the torrent (actually there are two, aren't there), let it download overnight. And when I get back from the office tomorrow and the wife is at the ballet, I'll sit down and watch.

      Oh, BTW, the wife has been looking forward to the ballet for a week now, and we've been looking forward to our holiday (next week) for several months.

      What is this concept that"If I can't have it RIGHT-now-THIS-very-MOMENT-bwaaah-BWAAAAHHH-bwaaa, then it can't be worth ever seeing.

      Kids today. Get off my lawn. Eee, when Ah were a lad ...

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  13. Zenith and Pioneer by MrEricSir · · Score: 1

    So will the next series will be called Magnavox, RCA, or Sony?

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    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    1. Re:Zenith and Pioneer by turing_m · · Score: 1

      Judging by the number of slashdot comments compared to the average, the 5.6 rating on imdb at release (I swear most eventual 5.6 movies start out at 7.5), and the fact that it's a sequel, "Nadir" might be more accurate.

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      If I have seen further it is by stealing the Intellectual Property of giants.
  14. Pioneer improved? by Snaller · · Score: 1

    Saw the first one - terrible...

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    If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
    1. Re:Pioneer improved? by honestmonkey · · Score: 1

      Was going to post to say the same thing, but I'll piggy-back on your comment. Zenith is, however, much better than Pioneer. Video quality, acting, storyline, all are better. Except for the nudity and cussing, I could imagine Zenith on TV easily. It is just a tad slow somewhere in the middle and I almost stopped watching but got curious enough to keep on. I think it's an interesting premise, although why do all futures have to be dystopian?

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      Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
  15. Re:That word you're using... by Professr3 · · Score: 1

    That's the beauty of crowd-sourced labels like "Cyberpunk" - they mean whatever *we say* they mean :) Yeah, the lead character's last name isn't Protagonist, he doesn't know kung-fu, and his consciousness is firmly rooted in his own entirely-flesh-and-blood body, but it has the same feel somehow. I like it.

  16. Re:Finally... by lennier1 · · Score: 1

    Not exactly new. Vodo has been around for a long time and several productions have released their movies and episodes their, financing the projects through donations instead of up-front money.

  17. Why not Usenet? by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

    Why not post it on a Usenet server? I always wonder the same about Linux distros as well.

    Is it because it is harder to track the number of downloads?

    1. Re:Why not Usenet? by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      Many (Most??) ISPs don't even have UseNet servers anymore. If you want usenet, you often have to pay extra. Plus all the problems with having to download 80 files and having to put them all together, what happens when one goes missing... (yes I'm aware of PAR). It would just be much more effective to post it on MegaUploads, or Rapidshare.

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      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    2. Re:Why not Usenet? by IrquiM · · Score: 1

      Because this is better

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      This is blinging
    3. Re:Why not Usenet? by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      I get a faster speed using usnet and it is not throttled like bittorrent is.

      I guess I just wish there were more legit files to download using usenet (not counting just text post.)

  18. Awww ... was hoping for 2000ADs "Zenith" by MarkTina · · Score: 1

    Now that would be a fun movie! :-)

    But I shall still take a gander at this one to keep in the spirit of things.

  19. Ouch... by 0m3gaMan · · Score: 1

    Even the kind reviews characterize this as a crapfest and non-starter.