The war on piracy rages on in New York City today. It appears the city is beefing up fines for those that videotape at the picture shows. We get the news from Variety:
Gotham city council passed new legislation Thursday that will increase fines for illegally videotaping films in theaters from $250 to $5000 and provide up to six months jail time for repeat offenders.
In addition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports the bill, has tasked his administration to boost efforts through undercover investigations and inspections, documenting trademark infringements, and using nuisance abatement law to hold accountable the owners of buildings where movies are duped and sold.
This sucks for people that video tape films in the theaters, but then again bringing a video camera into a movie theater has never been a wise idea. I have never seen this happen, If I were a gambling man I would guess that it is theatre employees that make dupes. They have the time to set up and prepare equipment when matinees are dead.
Going to jail for 6 months is a little harsh, but it seems to be a sentence reserved for repeat offenders. So if you get caught – It might be a good idea to hang up the camera.
I never saw what the appeal was for video duped films in the first place. The quality always seems shitty and sometimes you can hear people talking. I know some people are able to overlook the quality issues so they can see the film asap, but for me I would rather wait till dvd release if I was unable to catch it in the theater.
I look at the cam movies as an extended preview of the movie, if the movie is worth seeing like The Shooter, then I’m off to see it on the big screen as well. If the cam movie is rubbish like Babel, then I’m glad I didn’t waste my money, time, petrol etc. and the huge entrance price on seeing a load of crap.
If stars like Brad and Angelina only make $18M instead of $21M every six months, I guess I can live with it.
The industry is so rediculous it hurts my brain to have to explain it to them.
This “cam” piracy is not where they are losing the money. If you are the type to accept the absolute shitty quality you get with a cam version, then you are not the type of person who spends money in theaters PERIOD! this is not money lost, this is money the industry would have never seen in the first place.
If a box of snikers is shipped to 7-11 and lets say it falls off the truck and is run over 10 times before the delivery guy can retrive it, so its ruined and he throws it in the garbage. Then some dude pulls it out of the garbage, all raty and shit, and sells it for 0.50 cents on the street corner. Snickers is not losing money, buying a shitty snickers from some sketchy dude on the street corner is not taking money away from the 7-11 or Snickers, who ever bought that shity snickers would never have spent the extra 0.50 cents in the 7-11 in the first place.
The real piracy occurs when a factory employee from the DVD manufactures steals a DVD and uploads it on the net 3 weeks before its release date. thats where the money is lost. Stop bullshitting us with this cam shit.
Nord
Maybe the studio heads will see that there is demand for watching movies at home the instant they come out in the theaters. The instant this idea gets implemented then maybe piracy would go down. Better to make some money than no money.
Oops did I open a can of worms?
Hey Doug, you’re right about theater employees. It’s pretty easy for a projectionist to set up a camera next to the projector and aim it out the little window above the audience and maybe hook up the audio directly into the camera.
Go a head and make it 6 years bitches. You’ll never stop us
I’m sorry, but 6 months is too harsh, especially considering the ridiculously light sentences that people get for worse crimes. I know piracy is illegal, but this is ridiculous.