Wolverine movie leaked! Piracy or publicity?

[Supreme2k]

Apparently, the new Wolverine movie has been leaked.

Funny thing is that they already have stats on how many times it was downloaded.

Does anyone else find it fishy that these "leaks" sometimes happen in such a systematic way? The "work release" is leaked, so people see enough to want them to see the finished product?

Is reporting about it hurting even more?, or is it just further marketing?

At least they didn't report it like some places do: "(movie, software) has already shown up on (torrent site). For those who don't know, a torrent is a way to download...(lengthy, detailed explanation of torrents, including links to the best, free torrenting sofware)"

[Epicurus8a]

One of the reports I read said FOX doesn't expect to lose a lot money because the people who download illegal movies probably don't go to the theater anyway. Ironically, I've been saying this for years! The MPAA, however, continues to add several zeroes to lost box office numbers whenever something like this occurs.

[SquirrelDip]

I also don't think downloads overly hurt theatre - I think many are like myself and pick and choose what to watch on the big screen. Downloads likely have a bigger impact on DVD sales and rentals...

[Noahtuck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/business/media/02film.html?_r=3&ref=technology

I don't know why they are making a big deal about this one, i have seen quite a few movies pop up before they were in theaters, & i'm not talking about workprints with timers or cams, actual dvd's with menu's & extras.
Pre-release rental dvd's are very common.
I've seen some months before the rental date.

Some were pre-release screeners that had warning about how they were digitally watermarked and could be traced back to the source but obviously that never worked very well because they keep popping up

[Supreme2k]

You've got a point there.

I saw Taken (starring Liam Neeson) last Christmas, several months before theatrical release. It was a legit blu-ray (no less) from another region. That "screening" actually got quite a few people to see it on the big screen. Well, bigger than a 60" plasma

Same with Shaun of the Dead a few years back. We saw it on a UK dvd almost a year before it was released in the States. We still went to see it at a midnight show.

[yoda313]

Wow sounds interesting......

[guns1inger]

I don't believe this is an orchestrated publicity leak. From what I have found, this constitutes the bulk of the movie, with only around 15 minutes missing. Yes, the effects aren't all finished and the final grading etc. probably wont have been applied, but this is still a hell of a lot to give away for some publicity.

Both Serenity and No Country For Old Men put the first 9 minutes up on the web in pretty good quality as part of their publicity campaign. This was enough to give you a good idea about the movie and if you would like it, without actually give anything away.

If you wanted to make it look like a leak, why not just leak the first 10 minutes, leave a few rough edges in it, and then kick up a fuss. It would give you the same net result, without giving away the farm.

This appears to have originated from one of the effects houses (possibly Rising Sun over here is Australia, although the vigorously deny it), and was probably lent to a friend and leaked from there. Eventually a low level nobody will be invented and sacked for the leak, and they might even fine the first person to upload it. After that it will all fade away.

[Supreme2k]

I got to check it out from a friend. It will prevent neither of us from seeing the final film in theaters. It is really horrible and annoying to see the unfinished product (not as much as Hulk a few years back). There's a ton of wires showing, unfinished green-screens, and a bunch of scenes where they are miming the CGI that will be put in later. It almost seems campy at this point and gives you a real appreciation of the effort that goes into a production such as this.

We just skimmed it. Wasn't worth watching the thing completely, though I do hate what they did with some of the established characters.

[Noahtuck]

OOPS!!!

Fired for movie review

Fox News ousted a veteran columnist after he posted an early review of the leaked "Wolverine."

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/fox-news-columnist-out-after-wolverine-review-ap

Fox News columnist out after 'Wolverine' review (AP)

LOS ANGELES - Fox News columnist Roger Friedman is out after posting a review of a leaked full-length work print of " X-Men Origins: Wolverine ." Fox News said Monday that the company's representatives and Friedman "mutually agreed to part ways immediately."

Friedman had been an entertainment writer who has contributed to FoxNews.com for 10 years. He wrote in his Fox 411 column Thursday that downloading the 20th Century Fox superhero prequel was "so much easier than going out in the rain" and that the movie "exceeds expectations at every turn."

The early review of the film, which 20th Century Fox described as a "stolen, incomplete and early version," was later removed from the Web site Friday. Fox News and 20th Century Fox are both units of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

The movie, which focuses on the beginnings of Hugh Jackman 's clawed Marvel superhero Wolverine, is not scheduled for release until May 1, but the leaked version began appearing online last week. 20th Century Fox promised that the source of the film would be prosecuted and said the FBI and Motion Picture Association of America are investigating the leak.

[lordsmurf]

I want a copy of this just to compare workprint to final print, from a research point of view, but I'm not willing to risk MPAA letters from a torrent. I saw a sample of the first 10 minutes, it was definitely not something I'd want to watch FIRST, with makeshift graphics. I'm quite willing to wait for the final version, and have no problem going to a theatre. It'll look great on the big screen. I'll take a day off work, go mid-afternoon mid-week, when kiddies and idiots are unable to be in theatres.

[yoda313]

@lordsmurf - don't worry wait 4 months and the dvd/bluray will be out. THen you'll have all the background info you want