Once upon a time there was a writer named Roger Friedman who wrote for a subsidiary of Fox’ news program Fox 411. He performed this duty with the consistency that would allow him to keep this job for a decade.
Then he figured that he would do the world a favour and write a review for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Oh, did I mention his employers didn’t offer him a copy of the film? Nope, part of his review was to talk about how easy it was to get a copy of the leaked workprint online, and despite the positive review that he gave, Fox couldn’t allow that to go on. Fox condemned his actions, and disowned him before giving him his walking papers.
Fox was publicly adamant about their position on the illegal status of their work print being uploaded, and had brought in the FBI to pursue the issue.
When Fox discovered what Friedman wrote, his bosses felt his article was a blatant promotion of piracy.
Seeing as how a Fox employee is promoting the very thing that they deemed harmful to their technological property, they took swift action. Friedman’s article was removed and he was let go from his position of 10 years.
I coudln’t see any way this could have turned out differently.
Perhaps he thought that being a good little boy for the subsidiary for so long, that his positive review of the leaked workprint would garner him some favour. Seems he is not the most respected in the Fox bullpen. Perhaps he figured he was bullet proof.
This guy WORKS for a news network. He has to be aware of what the legal ramifications would be in REPORTING that he downloaded an illegal stolen workprint, and bragged about other movies he downloaded as well. Did he really think that the positive review might save him?
Worse, is that he WORKS for them. If he wanted to review the film, he could have asked his superiors to arrange a copy for him. If they agreed, then he would have been able to offer his opinion piece without having to admit his illegal actions against his employers. Granted a review by a Fox employee might not have endured much credibility online, but at least he would be employed.
I honestly don’t know what this guy was thinking. He got what he deserved.
Friendly Reminder Links to downloads, comments endorsing downloads or offering reviews on the film will be removed. Please keep on the discussion, and not encourage piracy.
EDIT: Apparently people didn’t get the message. Discussing illegal downloads and encouraging it as less than the simple illegal act it is will get the off topic comment removed. As a result a fair number of comments had to be removed. Kindly keep on topic people.
Several of my comments seem to have been deleted. Is there any reason for this?
As stated in the post, discussion encouraging or promoting piracy would be removed. You were already forewarned this would happen.
Your perspective on DRM had no place in this topic. Sorry.
Wow.
At no point have I encourage downloading or promoted piracy. I tried to engage in a debate about it – but it seems that wasn’t welcome.
As for the DRM post, I thought it was fair given that you brought it up.
I didn’t think The Movie Blog would delete stuff just because it was contrary to the writers opinion. And you “Funny the only people griping about DRM are the people who want to pirate it.” is such a bold statement I thought it warranted some thoughtful response.
Clearly the exercise was a gigantic waste of my time.
We never delete stuff because it is contrary to the writer’s opinion.
However with the sensitive topic at hand there was potential of discussion tangent off into encouragement for piracy. Which it did from other responses also removed related to your comments regarding DRM.
RIGHT IN THE POST it says that off topic discussion will be removed, and comments discussing piracy or encouraging it would be removed.
I am sorry you wasted your time, however had you read the disclaimer on this post you would have seen that your DRM discussion would have lead to just this reaction.
I do understand, but when you drop one like that – it does encourage people to reply, do you not think?
Perhaps you should be more careful about what debating points you make.
hardyharhar!
reviewing illegal, publicly condemned movies is never a good strategy for personal success. Friedman can pretty well kiss any future career as a movie critic goodbye, who would ever hire this guy after what he did?
or maybe he could appeal to The Pirate Bay for some type of piracy asylum, starting him on a new career as FRIEDBEARD, THE PIRATE AMBASSADOR.
aye matey
Wow..someone need a nap?
I take it you didn’t like Tropic Thunder much?
I Don’t know, didn’t read the review.
#1 on my list should have read “Fox leaked the film or it was leaked due to lax security measures.”
“From a certian point of view” that would still makeit their fault.
I Truly belive Fox, and others, could have prevented this if they seriously invested in stopping it.
“No press is bad press” and “The Art of Spin” are marketing 101 and I really think Fox is doing their best to capatilize on this.
I don’t think it will hurt the film’s take, maybe even help it due to the extra word of mouth. That dosen’t make it right.
Some things have been leaked purposley and effectivly i.e. NIN
Conspiracy theroist, NO. I do however think Jerry Garcia was in the KGB…
I don’t think America had anything to do with 9/11 did we get the whole story about it or WOMD. Perhaps not?
The 9/11 remark was the kind of fanboy sucker punch you usually chide people for on here. IMHO
I should have stated my intended sarcasm,distaste for piracy and love for jokes at corporate America’s exspense more clearly…but dam!!
Now I need a nap.
DJ,
You don’t make any sense at all. This has nothing to do with Tropic Thunder (which I liked)
This has to do with your fabricated conspiracy theory that Fox INTENDED this. There is no evidence or proof of it but off the cuff with no basis short of a whim, you decide its in the realm of possibility, so now its somehow true?
And I threw out the 9/11 bit because your consipiracy theory is about as valid as those. When you find your WMDs, you let me know. Bush already publicly admitted that they were certain they had ’em but failed to find any. It was an accurate parallel to draw, but instead of addressing it, you try to bury it as snark. Nice dodge.
Wow…Screw the nap try an enaema and some Richard Rryor records or something…wasn’t dodgeing any think but you belive what you like it’s your blog.
My Tropic Thunder barb and “Conspiracy Theroy” made sense to me!
Again I was being sarcastic after reading 600 posts of duplicated bitching about this issue on this thread. It got taken and of context although I still think you being really naiave about movie studio’s actions possibly for the sake of argument here.
I don’ t really know what happened but armored trucks carry cash around all day everyday and rarely does it “leak.” It can be stopped at the source if the movie studios really want. IMHO
Or maybe Marvel planted a mole at fox to leak and thus sabatoge the movie. Then Fox says screw this and all the rights revert back to Marvel!?! (BLATENT SARCASM)
I really just want to se the dam movie already.
My Take:
1. Fox leaked the film
2. Fox caught on that people were catching on…
3. Fox gave the Writer a secret “retitierment package” to be the “Sacrificial Lamb”
4.Fox exec’s are now making a cash register sound ever time someone make a blog post about the leak.
5. They make the sound twice and bellow laughter every time someone CONDEMS piracy.
I wish May first would hit so I can see the film and move on to the next hollywood drama/viral marketing campaign!!
I bet you also think that Americans flew their own planes into the trade towers to start a war.
Sorry, there is NO logic to them sacrificing a tentpole film’s potential so they can get a public service message out against piracy.
And how exactly do you think Fox is benefiting from a blog talking about someone pirating their property??
Before you start your conspiracy theory rants, you might want to make sure they have a shred of common sense.
Fox had no choice but to do it. The guy put them between a rock and a hard place. He is a complete moron for saying how he got it illegally.
I think that there are two types of people when it comes to this topic: those that understand property rights ownership (ie. creative, ownership of, etc) and those that do not. For the argument to be made that people that download these illegal works shouldn’t be fined/fired is like never wanting to get paid for anything you do. If that’s the attitude people have, why aren’t there more volunteers in the world?
I’ve never been a fan of the illegal download. Mostly because the quality is usually craptastic, but also because a lot of work and effort went into creating this project, and I appreciate the experience and want to see it on a ginourmous screen! But I digress.
Mr. Friedman is lucky if he’s not prosecuted further, especially since he’s admitted (I never read his article, but going by what Rodney mentioned) to illegally downloading SEVERAL other movies as well! This can of worms is about to spill ALL over the place!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Lessons learned…
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
1
Clean up your own backyard before you knock on your neighbor’s door
2
Never bite the hand that feeds. That goes double for this day and age
3
If you have ever done a wrong and confess, never boast you are not remorseful and will do it again
4
Don’t work for Fox. Work for website Io9.
d’oh!
Is this really the day and age we live in??? One where people just get fired for taking some initiative?!?……………………….
……………..TOTALLY just kidding, by the way. What in holy Hell was this guy thinking? Either he has a bit of a suicidal streak, or he just had one horrible, horrible lapse of judgement…. IF he practiced any judgement at all durring this situation. I don’t think Fox had any other choice at all, but to fire him. Be pulled the trigger, nobody to blame but himself.
Pirating is an inexcusable practice, by the way, there’s NO logical explanation to condone it if you’re truely being honest with yourself. Except just admitting “I’m a thieving rat”. Everytime my cousin mentions a movie he pirated all I can do now is grit my teeth. If you don’t have the money to go to the movies do something else for god’s sake, like watch a free movie online that has surpassed it’s copyright date, that isn’t illegal, or go for a stroll in the damn park or something, take in some nature before it’s all gone…. what? Those things can be fun too.
By the way, I’m liking this waking up to three reviews by John and four posts by Rodney schtick. Keep up the good work boys.
Actually, as far as breaking the law goes, downloading a movie which is a product of the company you work for can’t possibly be illegal.
Movie companies do this all the time, especially on torrent sites, to keep an eye on what is out there. They aren’t really breaking the law by downloading, it’s their product.
So the employee should have been protected anyway. Now, to how FOX should have reacted.
Writing a piece about a pirated movie is fair enough. I’m prepared to bet that every journalist in the world who has written about this leaked workprint has seen a copy. The difference here is that this chap was honest about having seen it.
So, this guy who served 10 years of faithful service, downloads a product of his company from the internet – writes a piece about it – and then gets the sack. Is that fair? No it isn’t.
The person who needs the sack is the person who leaked the release.
Even the torrent sites that host it are far game – and the penalty for pre-release material is more severe than post-release. But not some dude who made a mistake.
FOX should have had a word with him, they should have explained what he’d done wrong. And then they should have removed the article from their site. But sacking someone for an uneducated mistake is really unfair – and once again, movie studios are painting themselves as the bad guys.
Strange, considering in the case of this movie, everyone probably does feel that the studio is the victim.
Downloading it is not the crime, distributing it is, which he does automatically by downloading it through a torrent.
But I don’t know what the hell this guy was thinking. But then it is Fox after all.
How the hell do you come up with that logic?
It doesn’t matter if he works for the company or not, which he doesn’t do since Fox news and 20th Century Fox are completely different entities.
He did break the law. Possession of copyright materials that you didn’t pay for is copyright violation.
Furthermore, there is an FBI investigation into the distrubution of this stolen product, which he blatantly admits that he took part in. He even goes as far as to admit that he would gladly do it more if he had the time and hard drive space.
There is no protection from an employee that steals from its employer. Why should he be let off the hook for this?
10 years of faithful service means nothing if you deliberately enter into a public act that defaces your employer.
Foz stands adamantly behind this copyright violation investigation, and one of their own employees comes forward to speak against it.
How do you think this would end?
and btw, lol the dude basically publically announced he illegally watched it, to lol he screwed himself
You know they should really start filming with some material that when someone in a theater tries to film it, they can’t. But really the employees should have handled this better, I mean I’m not shocked it got online, I’m shocked it got online before the release
Take him out to the back of the studios.
30 lashes!!!
muahahahahahaha!!!!!
I think a news piece about it would’ve been good enough. I don’t know that he had to review it, but since this blog post doesn’t contain a link to the original article, nor does the blog you linked to(screen rant), nor does the blog who they link (cinematical), nor does the blog they linked (deadline hollywood), its hard for me to say what the intent of what he wrote was.
Maybe he did some bad journalism, but all I see is bad blog linking behavior when I have to click 4 links deep and still not get the whole story.
The review has been taken down by Fox. In its place is review of a soap opera.
Maybe one the same :)
Zac, we link to the site where we found the news. You want to dig to the source, that’s your call.
He did fine journalism. He discussed a topic and gave his opinion on the work that he found.
What he did to get fired was encourage piracy with his article and then expose an unreleased Fox product.
Even I am bound by press limitations when I get an advanced screening. I am told the date at which I can post my review and I risk losing that privilege should I choose to break the rules.
His privilege was his job, which he lost for violating company policy in a number of ways.
Yea doesnt make sense for him to download the unfinished film and write a review of it. He could have just gave his thoughts or impressions instead of a review. For that yea he should be fired. Now for downloading the film I could care less. First off its unfinished, secondly I can’t see this not effecting the box office gross or DVD sales in the future if the films good. But man what an idiot.
i agree, i just dont see the point in giving a review for an unfinished film
Now if we could only get rid of Glenn Beck and Bill O’ Reily
Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly don’t give movie reviews, but they do give good ratings. That is why they remain. And neither one would bother with illegal downloads anyway. They have too much fun sticking it to Barney Franke and Sean Penn’s favorite dictators.
and if FoxNews did dump Beck, I’d still support the 9/12 project.
We do surround them.
Drink some tea.
I really don’t think this leak is going to hurt the film very much. The people that download and watch it and DON’T pay are the same people who would have done it anyway. Everyone else who downloaded it is just going to get more pumped about a franchise they love and pay to see it. Yes, it might hurt a bit, but it could also be the hype machine that this film needed.
Agree to disagree.
true
Never thought I’d say this but good for Fox taking a stand against this like they have. I just hope the FBI are making good progress in this case. I’ve already talked to a few people that have had friends watch a bootleg and I’ve been pretty disgusted by it. Can’t wait to support the film next month.
But its true. It’s easy. It’s not like this is some big secret. It’s not as if he gave directions on how to go get it.
I could see maybe suspending him for a week or two, but come on.
In the original article, he said if he had more time he would download more of the movies if he just had the time and a bigger hard drive.
You don’t have to give instructions to write an article that endorses or encourages piracy.
These people try to equate movie piracy to punching a hungry child in the face, and you think he might get off with only a week suspension? No. He was definitely foolish to open his mouth like this.
And by “these people” I hope you mean the law in general.
He broke the law and stole copyright material from his own company, the blatantly encouraged piracy and discussed the film in his article on his employers website.
That would be like me writing an article here about how I stole John’s credit cards, bragged about how easy it was and discussed what I bought with them.
Yeah… he’d fire me.
Makes sense.
ha ha ha ha ha god for you the fed have got you