Michael Moore says "pirate my film"

[El-Kabong]

Lets try and not get into the whole "Moore is a fatass blockhead" political debate. If you want to rip into him, there are plenty of other threads for that.

From the Sunday Herald:

Controversial film-maker Michael Moore has welcomed the appearance on the internet of pirated copies of his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and claimed he is happy for anybody to download it free of charge.

The activist, author and director told the Sunday Herald that, as long as pirated copies of his film were not being sold, he had no problem with it being downloaded.

“I don’t agree with the copyright laws and I don’t have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they’re not trying to make a profit off my labour. I would oppose that,” he said.

“I do well enough already and I made this film because I want the world, to change. The more people who see it the better, so I’m happy this is happening.”

Moore’s views have not been well received by Hollywood’s establishment, which is fighting a war against the online pirates it claims cost the industry £1.6 billion a year in lost sales.

Jack Valenti, the outgoing president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), said: “We are proud that American films continue to enjoy immense popularity around the world but the need for copyright protection in the digital age is crucial to the preservation of our most prized trade asset.

“Piracy is having a dramatic impact on the creators and copyright owners of this nation, and its defeat depends largely on the commit ment and resolve of the entire industry.

“File sharing causes tremendous financial loss to the movie business, untold hardship to support workers, and costs thousands of jobs.”

Distributed via websites such as suprnova.org, which lays claim to having served more than 17 million downloads, Moore’s documentary critique of the Bush administration’s red, white and blue rush into war with Iraq is among the web’s hottest properties.

Thousands of copies of Fahrenheit 9/11 have already been downloaded, each taking about 3.5 hours over a broadband connection.

Ironically, the burgeoning underground market for Moore’s much-debated documentary has been championed by both sides of the political divide. While left-wing sites promote the film’s message, opponents of the high-profile polemicist are urging people to “steal” their copy, thus denying its director his cut of the profits.

Last month the website of producers Lions Gate Films was subjected to a barrage of attacks by hackers, with one creating a link to a download destination on the site’s front page.

Despite up to 150 people simultaneously bagging free copies of its most valuable property at any given time 24 hours a day, Lions Gate says it has no plans to oppose the practice. While unwilling to make any official statement likely to further provoke Hollywood’s heavy hitters, the film company appears to have fallen into line with its director’s laissez-faire approach.

Moore said: “Is it wrong for someone who’s bought a film on DVD to let a friend watch it for free? Of course it’s not. It never has been and never will be. I think information, art and ideas should be shared.”

Defenders of Moore’s position include Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino, who earlier this year encouraged audiences in countries where his films are not legally available to obtain counterfeit copies.

The furore engulfing Moore is just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the film. Almost smothered by original production company Miramax’s refusal to distribute the final cut, he also this year launched an unsuccessful legal attempt to overturn the MPAA’s decision to give the documentary an “R” rating, which barred under-16s from seeing the movie without an adult.

Opposed by Move America Forward, a conservative group set up to dissuade cinemas from showing the film, Fahrenheit 9/11 has become one of the most controversial productions in Hollywood history. Last month Australian distributors Hopscotch Films claimed to have received e-mails warning that if the company went ahead with its planned release of the movie, it would do so “at our own peril”.

The hubbub is unlikely to subside any time soon. With Lions Gate reporting that DVD rights are likely to be won by Disney-owned Buena Vista Home Entertainment, many commentators believe the digital distribution network may yet face serious opposition.

Valenti said: “Nobody can allow their rights to be stolen because, if you can’t retrieve your investment, you’re out of the movie business,

“I don’t think there’s really a single actor or director in the world who does not believe that if you don’t combat piracy, it will devour you in the future.”

As an intresting side point, the BBC is reporting that the movie industry, in yet another illustration of just how much damage piarcy and downloading is inflicting on the MPAA, is reporting that they have just endured a record breaking $1 Billion dollar takings for the month of June.

[nodeerforamonth]

Why not? He's made enough money off the blood of innocents.

[Trigger]

re-post I think...

[El-Kabong]

I didnt see anything when I searched - but then trying to find ANY thread Michael Moore related is a pain in the ass.

[Sierra Disc]

Wow, it took until the very second post for the Moore bashing to start... How shockingly unpredictable.

[68ShelbyGT500KR]

Do you have a download link? (not the POT-CAM verison)

[Jackskeleton]

Originally posted by nodeerforamonth
Why not? He's made enough money off the blood of innocents.

wow, what a way to start off a moore thread. You guys don't slow down at all.


The sunday on the weekend it was released had the film show up on his website as a direct link. some hackers put it up there. Eh. I'm sure he doesn't mind he's made a ton off it already and he really wants to get the message across so that bush is out in nov.

[lukewarmwater]

Originally posted by nodeerforamonth
Why not? He's made enough money off the blood of innocents.

thats what she said

[NEUMANN]

Originally posted by nodeerforamonth
Why not? He's made enough money off the blood of innocents.

That blood is on Bush's hands, and Moore is trying to stop the flow of blood,in fact that was a pretty stupid post by nodeerforamonth

[drjay]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I read MM was donating the profits? Therefore he would've made $0 off of anyone. Again, I might be wrong about that, but I swear I read it (again, try finding info in a MM thread).

[Tafellappen]

Originally posted by drjay
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I read MM was donating the profits? Therefore he would've made $0 off of anyone. Again, I might be wrong about that, but I swear I read it (again, try finding info in a MM thread).

Miramax is being forced by Disney to donate 60% of the profits to a charity of their choosing.

http://us.imdb.com/news/sb/

[PopcornTreeCt]

The only thing worse than Michael Moore is another Michael Moore thread.

[ChrisKnudsen]

i think michael moore just wants everyone in the world to see his movie. it is simple as that. if i made a powerful documentary with a message of revolution, i would do anything to get my message across. you go mr. moore, you go.

[Goat3001]

Oh well, guess I'll just download it now.

I like the "record breaking 1 billion dollar in the month of June" yet all we here is how bad piracy is.

[Mopower]

Originally posted by ChrisKnudsen
i think michael moore just wants everyone in the world to see his movie. it is simple as that. if i made a powerful documentary with a message of revolution, i would do anything to get my message across. you go mr. moore, you go.

One mans opinion of a subject with total disregard of any facts that counter facts that support his opinion is a "powerful documentary with a message of revolution"? If thats the case then you could say the same thing about Hitler's Der ewige Jude.

[DonnachaOne]

Originally posted by Mopower
One mans opinion of a subject with total disregard of any facts that counter facts that support his opinion is a "powerful documentary with a message of revolution"? If thats the case then you could say the same thing about Hitler's Der ewige Jude.

Der Ewige Jude was a powerful documentary with a message of revolution. A pretty evil one, but a message nonetheless.

But what has Der Ewige Jude got to do with this thread? Nothing, unless Hippler also put out a message that you could download it for free. Which I doubt. Stay on topic and, if you must bash a movie, do it in its appropriate thread, please.

[El-Kabong]

Originally posted by PopcornTreeCt
The only thing worse than Michael Moore is another Michael Moore thread.

Does it matter WHO it is? Frankly I posted it not because he's a hot button topic, but because heres an writer/director/creative person saying that the message is more important than the huge pile of money that he could make.

It could have been Pixar saying that and I still would have posted it.

[costanza]

naaarrrrrrrr!!!

[DonnachaOne]

Originally posted by costanza
naaarrrrrrrr!!!

Wolfman's got 'em?

[Hiro11]

I don't particularly like the guy, but that's pretty damn cool of him.

[wordtoyamotha]

Originally posted by DonnachaOne
But what has Der Ewige Jude got to do with this thread? Nothing, unless Hippler also put out a message that you could download it for free. Which I doubt.

[resinrats]

The movie convinced me to vote for Bush so Michael's message got out.

[Ranger]

Why does it matter what Michael Moore and Quentin Tarantino say piracy is fine? It just seems wrong, especially since the studios, not them, are paying for the distribution of their work. If the studio came out (with an official statement) and said they had no problem with piracy, then I'll listen.

[Tarantino]

Yet we still can't talk about backing up our own DVD's...

[Mopower]

Originally posted by Tarantino
Yet we still can't talk about backing up our own DVD's...

I'm backing up some of NetFlicks dvd's right now.......uh....for them.