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Warner Brothers Pulls Canadian Previews 273

Posted by kdawson from the camcorders-eh dept.
A number of readers let us know that Reuters and others are reporting that Warner Brothers is canceling movie previews in Canadian theaters, starting with Oceans Thirteen. A Warner VP said, "Within the first week of a film's release, you can almost be certain that somewhere out there a Canadian copy will show up." Recently, the International Intellectual Property Association placed Canada on its Priority Watch List, along with the likes of Argentina, China, Russia, Turkey, and Venezuela. This community knows, thanks to Michael Geist, that the claim is mostly ficiton.
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Warner Brothers Pulls Canadian Previews More

Warner Brothers Pulls Canadian Previews

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  • Lucky Canadians (Score:5, Funny)

    by DJCacophony ( 832334 ) <v0dka&myg0t,com> on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:20PM (#19041109) Homepage
    Too bad they don't do that here, too, so I wouldn't have to sit through so many previews just to see the movie I paid to see.

    • Re:Lucky Canadians (Score:5, Informative)

      by Nos. ( 179609 ) <andrew.thekerrs@ca> on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:22PM (#19041137) Homepage
      Those are called trailers, and they're not stopping those. They're canceling early screenings of new movies.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by DJCacophony ( 832334 )
        Oh, my mistake. I thought they said previews, rather than early screenings.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Isaac-1 ( 233099 )
        It would certainly be nice if those "trailers" would go away, I went to see a movie earlier this year and it had 54 minutes worth of trailers and commercials before the opening credits.
    • Read the article - they're talking about pre-release showings (previews) of movies.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by StarvingSE ( 875139 )
        Can we just tag this article with !trailer and be done with it?!?

      • Re:Lucky Canadians (Score:5, Funny)

        by mark*workfire ( 220796 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:16PM (#19042147)
        It's all crap. Everybody knows Canadians don't even have movie theaters. The project lamp heat melts the igloo. Besides, a group of Canadians together are easy prey for Polar Bears.

        • Re:Lucky Canadians (Score:5, Funny)

          by Fireflymantis ( 670938 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:45PM (#19042703)
          As a Canadian, I can confirm this. I once tried to set up a little home brew theater in my igloo, but the projector melted in the roof. A fire started briefly, but fortunately the melting ice quickly snuffed it out. It goes without saying that the projector was toasted in the incident. Whats worse though is that my igloo insurance policy did not cover the damages.

          • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

            by MarkCollette ( 459340 )
            I solved this problem by using rear projection right through the clear ice wall. This way the bulb is outside, and doesn't melt the igloo. Sucks when it's snowing outside though, as that makes it look like it's snowing in the movie. That's why I only watch Christmas specials, all year long.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by neoform ( 551705 )
      "Warner Bros. Pictures said Monday it will cancel preview screenings of its movies north of the border."

      This is for preview Screenings.. meaning the full film being played before it's release date to a select audience (generally newspaper reviewers and radio contest winners).

    • It's worth noting that, even if what you suggest were so (that they plan to stop showing preview commercials in front of movies), all that would result in is more advertisements for Pepsi and Nike.

      Yet another reason I hate going to the theatre... They charge way too much for the ticket for me to think it's OK for them to also force feed me advertisements for things that are completely unrelated to the movies.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by An ominous Cow art ( 320322 )
        It's been something like four years since I've been in a regular movie theater for exactly that reason. I go to Chunky's [chunkys.com] instead; they don't do that. Every time I post a message about this, other people chime in with similar theaters elsewhere. I hope you can find one near you...
  • ...it seems like everything's gone wrong since Canada came along!

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by eclectro ( 227083 )
      ...it seems like everything's gone wrong since Canada came along!

      I think that it's high time that we stop this tyranny, protect the movie studios, and invade Canada.

      I see no alternative.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by sYkSh0n3 ( 722238 )
      Should we blame the government?
      Or blame society?
      Or should we blame the images on TV?
      No, blame Canada
      Blame Canada

  • Maybe I missed something... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Corpuscavernosa ( 996139 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:22PM (#19041139)
    ... but where the hell is the correlation between a preview and a pirated full copy of a movie?
    • I think a preview is the movie, released a bit early.

      • I think a preview is the movie, released a bit early.

        In the GP's defense, they do say "THE FOLLOWING PREVIEW IS RATED whatever" before each trailer.

      • Re:You're probably thinking of a trailer (Score:4, Informative)

        by 91degrees ( 207121 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:19PM (#19042213) Journal
        There seems to be a lot of confusion here. I take it they don't do this in the US.

        In Britain (and I assume also in Canada), there's often a showing before the release date. Usually a day early, sometimes a week early. This is usualyl billed as a "special preview" or something to hype it up and to make people feel they're getting something special. Actually it usually just means the effective release date is the day before the posters claim.

        So perhaps the headline should read "Movie piracy delays Canadian Release by up to a week".
    • I didn't get this for a while either, but they're using "preview" in the sense of "showing the whole movie, before it's officially released," which is quite distinct from those advertisements/teasers that get shown before other movies, and are properly called "trailers."

      I don't know if calling 'trailers' 'previews' is an Americanism, but I found the whole thing pretty confusing.
      • Well, since before each trailer a big "THE FOLLOWING PREVIEW HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR" MPAA screen shows up, I can't help but think that yes, it is an Americanism. And thankfully we have only the MPAA to blame!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by neoform ( 551705 )
      "Warner Bros. Pictures said Monday it will cancel preview screenings of its movies north of the border."

      preview screening = full movie shown before it's release

  • Shooting themselves in the foot (Score:5, Insightful)

    by neoform ( 551705 ) <djneoform@gmail.com> on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:22PM (#19041151) Homepage
    Promotional Previews are specifically released in order to help promote the film through positive word of mouth and newspaper reviews..

    Do they really think this is somehow going to help them make more revenue if there's no buzz on the street, amongst friends and no reviews in papers?

    Talk about stupid. The movie industry seems as stupid as the RIAA labels..
    • Haven't you heard? All decreases in revenue are because of piracy.

    • Re:Shooting themselves in the foot (Score:5, Insightful)

      by compro01 ( 777531 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:26PM (#19041237)
      they're trying to reduce sales. then they can claim that teh ebil PIRAT3S! are stealing everything and convince the government that they need to "modernize" canadian copyright and IP laws.

      it's not stupid. it's moderately smart and it seems to be working quite well in the US.

    • WTF are they thinking?! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:37PM (#19041503) Homepage Journal
      So in an effort to curb CAMCORDER pirated videos, they are getting rid of previews which will generate word of mouth, reviews, and more sales?!? It's not like we're talking about copied DVDs, or direct rips with full Dolby 7.1 surround sound, we're talking about PoC hand held camera recordings with a single audio channel, wiggling around through out the movie, with people blocking a chunk of the screen and audience noise over the movie...

      I hate to break it to them, but anyone who is watching a copy of a movie from that medium was not in a position to actually buy a ticket or DVD.

      -Rick

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by ksheff ( 2406 )
        Someone in Hollywood heard that was the next scam that Julian and Ricky were going to pull. It will involve replacing one of Bubbles' lenses with a camcorder.

      • Re:WTF are they thinking?! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by superbus1929 ( 1069292 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:19PM (#19042221) Homepage
        No, this isn't about any sort of legitimate concern; this is a political move.

        Warner - and the MPAA by extension - want control of Canada the way they have control of America. This is a political tool to get publicity, and get a few ignorant members or a Tory Parliament to bite and draft up a version of the DMCA for Canada.

        The message is clear: assimilate or else.

        • Re:WTF are they thinking?! (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Fallingcow ( 213461 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:43PM (#19042641) Homepage
          Exactly.

          This has nothing to do with what they say it does, and everything to do with making everyone think that Canada is some major rogue when it comes to IP law. This move is, itself, an advertisement for their political position.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by debest ( 471937 )

          This is a political tool to get publicity, and get a few ignorant members or a Tory Parliament to bite and draft up a version of the DMCA for Canada.

          Exactly what I see, too. All the major network channels are hyping this story for their nightly news programs tonight. "Laying the groundwork" to make sure that the issue is known for the upcoming legislation, and that the industry's side is seen as the reasonable and desirable choice among the uninformed.

          We need more guys like Micheal Geist (preferably someo

    • Re:Shooting themselves in the foot (Score:5, Funny)

      by mentaldingo ( 967181 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:38PM (#19041513) Homepage
      Indeed. This is the dumbest fucking idea I've heard since I joined the MPAA.

    • Re:Shooting themselves in the foot (Score:4, Interesting)

      by SpeedyDX ( 1014595 ) <speedyphoenix AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:48PM (#19041707)
      It is true, what you say.

      I go to a lot of previews (part of the perks of being a University of Toronto student if you know where to look). Whenever a preview is shown to a select group of U of T students, there's a noticeable buzz going around campus (40,000+ strong) about the new movie. For example, I went to the previews for The Last King of Scotland and Waitress. After watching the previews, spreading a few words here and there myself, there's a noticeable amount of interest for those two movies.

      Anyway, I don't know why Warner Bros would do this. Fox previews require us to hand in cell phones and they pat us down to check for recording devices. I don't mind letting them have a little touch if they're showing me a good movie for free. It's a win-win.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ctrl-Z ( 28806 )

        I don't mind letting them have a little touch if they're showing me a good movie for free.
        That's what she said! [rimshot]

      • I don't mind letting them have a little touch if they're showing me a good movie for free.


        Be sure to get a free dinner at a restaurant as well.

    • Re:Shooting themselves in the foot (Score:4, Informative)

      by soft_guy ( 534437 ) * on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:09PM (#19042053)
      I disagree with you. I think that this is an excellent move by the film industry and should be encouraged. In fact, they should take it to the logical conclusion and stop making commercial movies altogether. That would prevent piracy. Movies suck. Do not cripple the 100 billion/yr computer industry that creates jobs for families to save the 5 billion/yr movie industry that creates trash and destroys families.

  • Self-fulfilling prophecy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:24PM (#19041201)
    > the studio said it will immediately halt all "promotional and word-of-mouth screenings"

    Prediction: by August, there'll be a press release noting that revenues for Ocean's Thirteen and Harry Potter were low, and that it'sss all the faults of those tricksy pirateses stealing their preciousss, and that (surprise, surprise), the only solution is that the Canadian government "harmonize" its rules with the US by passing something equivalent to (or worse than) the DMCA.

  • Awesome! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jollyreaper ( 513215 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:25PM (#19041217)
    Now what can we do as a nation to get them to pull their crappy movies from our theaters?
    • Reduce theatre prices, as obviously people want to spend 80$ every time you take the kids to a show. I know if I saw reasonable prices, i'd be thrown into a loop i might never resolve.

      • Reduce theatre prices, as obviously people want to spend 80$ every time you take the kids to a show.

        $80?? How many kids do you have?? The most I've ever seen a ticket price is $10, and it's typically around $8 where I live.

        Now, let's really examine that $8. EIGHT FREAKING DOLLARS. To see a production that they possibly spent hundreds of millions of dollars to produce. Ever priced live theatre? The circus? A concert? Sports events?

        It always floors me that people complain about the price of tickets. W

        • I regularly would see prices of $14~16 Canadian here in downtown Toronto.

    • Re:Awesome! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by CodeMunch ( 95290 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:19PM (#19042219) Homepage
      Buy Cuban cigars - that's what I'll be doing with my Ocean's 13 pittance.

      I'd rather support our godawful tobacco taxes than let those wankers try to dictate how our fair use should work.

    • I mean, the best way to make sure that their movies are safe is to keep them out of the country.

      And they're going to use the money the don't send down south to the US to create a movie industry in Canada.

      Oh wait, they're already here and their cameras are going to be available? Saweeet!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by turgid ( 580780 )

      Now what can we do as a nation to get them to pull their crappy movies from our theaters?

      Fill your theatres with quality home-grown content [wikipedia.org]. You might even get a government subsidy.

  • Seems straightforward to me (Score:3, Insightful)

    by LordPhantom ( 763327 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:27PM (#19041257)
    Well.... If they're interested in preventing pre-release copies being available, I guess it kind-of makes sense. Don't show movies in theaters that aren't enforcing camcorder bans, etc. If they're trying to prevent piracy in general, it's not going to help much.

    • Re:Seems straightforward to me (Score:5, Insightful)

      by orclevegam ( 940336 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:41PM (#19041569) Journal
      Most of the quality rips you find on bitorrent and such are actually ripped from inside the projection room as opposed to down in the audience. This won't cut back on pre-release copies in the slightest, and honestly I'd bet most of the copies floating around now are from the US and not Canada. This is mostly a PR thing to try and pressure the Canadian government into bending over and lubing up for the MPAA, and has nothing at all to do with piracy.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Malc ( 1751 )
      They should water-mark the films and identify the offending cinemas. Next time those cinemas will lose ticket sales when other cinemas in the area host advanced showings and they don't.

  • There's some other coverage on this.... (Score:5, Informative)

    by 8127972 ( 73495 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:30PM (#19041333)
    ... On theglobeandmail.com below:

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM .20070508.WBmingram20070508112009/WBStory/WBmingra m [theglobeandmail.com]

    The Globe And Mail is one of Canada's largest daily newspapers and has some amount of influence. Also, Mathew Ingram is somewhat influential in the "blogisphere" up north. I think he's hit the nail on the head. Too bad the studios won't be paying attention.

  • Go Team USA! (Score:5, Funny)

    by d34thm0nk3y ( 653414 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:30PM (#19041347)
    Within the first week of a film's release, you can almost be certain that somewhere out there a Canadian copy will show up.

    Come, my fellow Americans, we can do this! We have a week to get our copy of Oceans Thirteen up! FTW!!

    • Come, my fellow Americans, we can do this! We have a week to get our copy of Oceans Thirteen up! FTW!!
      Too much work, why don't we just outsource it to China.
  • I have a feeling that banning previews for _Oceans 13_ will only help its draw, by reducing negative word of mouth. Same for _Potter_; the fifth book was by far the least enjoyable.

    I do have a few questions which might lead to concern for a studio exec.

    1) Just how much equipment, in dollars, does it take to transfer a movie to DVD or an HD format?

    2) Is this equipment easily transportable?

    3) How long does the transfer take?

    4) How much would it take to bribe a projectionist or theatre manager to allow someon
    • 4) How much would it take to bribe a projectionist or theatre manager to allow someone in the theatre, with the equipment, for long enough to do the transfer?

      this is why they're getting rid of the previews. you can't bribe them to copy what they don't have.
      • The stated reason for getting rid of previews is that the laws against someone sneaking a camcorder into the theatre and making a copy that way are insufficient in Canada. Bribing a theatre employee for access to the print to make a high-quality transfer is a whole different thing, and works as well in either the US or Canada.
        • Bribing a theatre employee for access to the print to make a high-quality transfer is a whole different thing, and works as well in either the US or Canada.

          that's what i was refering to and that's what this is (supposedly) supposed to eliminate.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Animats ( 122034 )

      I have a feeling that banning previews for _Oceans 13_ will only help its draw,

      Yes, it's one of those movies that makes you ask "Why bother?". The original Oceans 11 was a vehicle for Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. So this is the second sequel of a remake. For a second-rate heist movie.

      Maybe they're trying to break the record for second-rate sequels, currently held by "Police Academy 7".

  • Ok, I don't see how a company pulling its advertising is going to hurt me or the theater.

  • This, IMO, is a good first step.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by zappepcs ( 820751 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:35PM (#19041453) Journal
    All those thieving consumers out there need to be punished. I can only hope that the MPAA members carry forward with step #2 on their route to newfound profits: Stop releasing films, period. That will show those thieving consumers.

    Stop 1 - Make movies
    Stop 2 - Don't release them to the public
    Stop 3 ........
    Stop 4 profit! /sarcasm

  • Movie Piracy Helps Prevent Gun Crime (Score:5, Funny)

    by Bert the Turtle ( 1073828 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @02:36PM (#19041471)
    Come on, we all know that despite a similar or larger number of firearms per person in Canada that violent crime and gun crime in particular is much lower there. It is obvious that having the opportunity to get cheap pirate movies keeps Canadians from killing each other. As such, I call on the US government to decriminalise piracy. Won't someone please think of the children!
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by orclevegam ( 940336 )
      Actually, China wouldn't care at all. The fact is, the United States is incapable of matching China's production costs, so it would be completely impossible for us to flood their market with cheap counterfeit goods (which are the only kind of counterfeit good that sells unless for some reason it's a limited supply item). As such, we could counterfeit Chinese goods coming into our country, but the chinese ones would probably be cheaper unless the Chinese government put large export tariffs on them, or we cou
    • Whatever happened to the Golden Rule

      the golden rule became "he who has the gold makes the rules", which near-perfectly describes the state of the us government in this matter.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by gstoddart ( 321705 )

      If the federal government allowed piracy of every category of IP to flourish, and to flood the Chinese market with counterfeit goods ranging from clothes to cars, you'd hear an outcry about it.

      That might be a bit difficult to make happen. Most of the production of US goods takes place in places like ... China. There isn't enough manufacturing capacity in the US to 'flood the Chinese market' -- nor could you get it there. The reason China has counterfeit versions of US products is because they're made the

  • But it won't. Just checking around my office, the feeling is a resounding, "meh".

    No, people shouldn't camcord in theatres, but if this is supposed to get the common citizen to get up in arms, it isn't going to happen. Fact is, I doubt anyone will even notice.

  • The only thing I can hope is that with all the self-doomsday predictions by the media industry about how they're going to go bust is that they suddenly actually do. That would be funny.

  • This is just BullFUD (a subtle and aromatic combination of bullshit and FUD). The **AA are unhappy with our relaxed and liberal IP laws up here, along with their inability to run around suing tens of thousands of us like they apparently do down there. So they've been trying to spread this bullfud about Canada being Piracy Central, likely in the hope of creating a bit of media noise and encouraging the current government to pass some draconian laws that would let them sue every canadian citizen at once. I al
  • I guess I'll just have to get my pirated copy from US industry insiders, or US movie reviewers... Who seem to be a source of 75% of all pre-release net-leaks... according to AT&T Labs anyway...
  • Pulling advance screenings will help reduce piracy? Hah, yeah, absolutely. I wonder how many people in the MPAA are making their careers on spreading FUD about film piracy and pushing various "solutions" to it. Oh well, as if anyone other than movie critics really care about advance screenings much. I'm just surprised how aggressive and seemingly desperate MPAA/RIAA tactics have gotten in the last few months...
  • If the previews are pulled, and the Warner Brothers titles are still being pirated before they are even available to Canadians, then go look somewhere else. I pay to see movies I want to see. The odd time I will catch a free preview but that is a rarity. If the movie is of interest, I will pay to see it and don't care if there is a preview or not.

    All this said, I really doubt that any correlation will be drawn from this.

  • This is to give ammo (Score:4, Informative)

    by jhylkema ( 545853 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:01PM (#19041887)
    to Harpo to "harmonize" Canadian copyright laws with the U.S. This is part of his "deep integration" hidden agenda he's going to implement the second he gets a majority government. You know, all of those "extra" laws Canada has on the books that "hinder" trade? He's already sold the tar sands to the oil barons lock, stock and barrel.

    Don't forget, the "piracy" claims come from an industry whose reputation for "creative accounting" is cited as examples of such in accounting textbooks!
  • So if we start pirating commercials before movies they will stop showing them also?? That is absolutely fantastic news!
  • I think that the wording on the story is a bit confusing. While it seems they are talking about previews (short snippets of the movie release to entice watchers, aka "trailers"), they are more likely referring to pre-releases (full releases to certain entities to generate hype - although often with identifying marks or distortions - before the official movies hit the theatres etc).
  • I say good riddance to these preview screenings. The preview screening for "Miracle" almost caused m y girlfriend to dump me. Funny story...

    I was doing the long distance thing for a while with the girlfriend while in college. There was a preview screening of "Miracle" at the movie theater, and as avid hockey fans, my roommate and I had to go. I tell the girlfriend that I'm going to see "Miracle" tonight. A few days later she finds out that "Miracle" was not out in theaters yet. It took some explain
  • And here I always enjoyed them Canadian versions of movies, all those "aboots" and the additional "eh" here or there always gave me a smile.
  • ...is that the movie industry seems to be of the deluded opinion that the regurgitated garbage it's shovelling these days is actually worth pirating.

    The last film I saw which I actually considered worth seeing was Batman Begins, and even that was still an unofficial sequel. (Or prequel, if you want to split hairs)

    That however is all the movie industry is doing now...remake after sequel after sequel after remake. There is absolutely nothing of any originality whatsoever being produced, and there hasn't been

  • Oh Dear (Score:4, Insightful)

    by florescent_beige ( 608235 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:26PM (#19042309) Journal

    Can't say I was really looking forward to seeing Oceans Thirteen. Twelve just struck me as party amongst the upper echelons of Really Really Really Good Looking® society flouncing around in their "aren't we simply FABULOUS darling?" way while deigning to let us watch. One also gets tired of Mr. Clooney being the Sexiest Man In The History of This Planet or Any Other Since His Personal Image Consultant Taught Him to Stop Wiggling His Head Like That.

    More to the point, if Warner thinks they can push Canada around with their fabricated numbers they are in for a surprise. The US isn't necessarily every Canadian's favourite country right now and bully tactics are likely to backfire. Plus, if Harper caves he will be judged as an American tody-boy and his Conservatives will find themselves back in the political outhouse for another 15 years, the same way they were after Mulroney sang Danny Boy to Regan like some desperately sycophantic wiener. Harper knows that so he won't be able to make our laws Just Like America, much as he'd love to.

    You have to realize that Canada gave away a lot to get the softwood lumber deal, just to see American industry continue to sue us us, obstruct business, and pay off the government to ignore it's own obligations under NAFTA. Canadians are cheesed about this, among other things, so the idea of a puffed up American lawyer dictating how we should run our country is...unwelcome.

    So to my American friends, don't worry, we'll take care of business on our end. It would really help, though, if you could slap these Napoleonic dweebs down a bit yourselves.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by cgenman ( 325138 )
      A bit Offtopic, but while Ocean's eleven was based on the original Las Vegas classic, Ocean's Twelve was originally constrewed as a John Woo vehicle. Which more or less explains why it didn't make sense: it was pretty thrown together from disparate elements.

      It appears that ocean's thirteen is venturing back towards a casino heist movie... kind of a rehash of the original rehash. Which is not to say that the people will get any less pretentiously good looking, but rather they'll be in the proper setting fo
  • Wow! Warner Brothers lies! Boy, that's no news at all.
  • Take that, you Canadian pinkos. We will no longer advertise our products to you! When you come crawling back to us begging for mercy (e.g. with more onerous "anti-piracy" legislation), then we will perhaps reconsider!

    Seriously though, this reminds me of when I was receiving an unsolicited magazine/catalog in the mail. It kept coming every month for several months. Finally, one of them showed up with a sticker that said "If you don't order something, this may be the last catalog you receive! Don't take that

  • This community knows, thanks to Michael Geist, that the claim is mostly ficiton.

    From Geist's figures: 179 camcorder versions out of 1,400 releases in 3 years. Or, approximately 60 a year.

    The flaw in that logic is assuming all movies are equal in terms of revenue.

    Hundreds of movies will see limited theatrical screenings and certainly never make it to pirate DVD because they're worthless to the pirates. Whilst a movie like The Station Agent is an undeniably great movie, short of winning awards, a movie about an anti social dwarf trainspotter isn't going to get the interest of many peopl

  • Ficiton? New word? (Score:4, Funny)

    by OldManAndTheC++ ( 723450 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:32PM (#19042427)

    This community knows, thanks to Michael Geist, that the claim is mostly ficiton

    ficiton (noun): an imaginary particle, spontaneously generated by media company executives (morons), to rationalize irrational behavior. The process of emitting and absorbing ficitons is termed con-fusion

    .

  • At early screening they took everything electronic (Score:3, Insightful)

    by guidryp ( 702488 ) on Tuesday May 08, 2007 @03:50PM (#19042799)
    I am in Canada, I saw an early promo screening of "Serenity" and the paranoia was laughable, they were confiscating anything electronic that might have a camera (cellphones etc..) and they came in several times to scan the audience. It was plain silly, I felt like I was in a police state.

    I think they should actually follow through with the previous threat and delay all movies in Canada by two weeks, that will be long enough for everyone to get the real buzz on the movie and should result in substantially less people being suckered by hype. Then they can find someone else to blame.

    But let's face it, this is not really about Canadians camcordering movies. This is all about greasing public opinion for an attempt to intro more draconian copyright laws in Canada so we can enjoy the benefits of industry lawyers threatening our 12 year old kids and grannies with lawsuits about something they might have infringed and then forking over the money because they are too scared to fight.

    My hope is that our current minority government situation will make such draconian changes much more difficult to pass.

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