cultshock

Well that didn't take long.

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- The final chapter of the Star Wars saga has gone over to the Internet's dark side.

"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" has been leaked onto a major file-sharing network just hours after opening in theaters, at a time when Hollywood is increasingly concerned about online piracy.

At least two copies of the film, which was first shown in theaters in the early hours of Thursday, have been posted to the BitTorrent file-sharing network -- a new and increasingly popular technology that allows users to download large video files much more quickly than in the past.

The Motion Picture Association of America has been aggressive in going after Web sites that provide "tracker" links that enable BitTorrent downloads of copyrighted material, including six lawsuits this week against sites with links to TV shows.

According to Web site Waxy.org (http://www.waxy.org/external link), one print was leaked on Wednesday before the film was even released in theaters. The movie was time-stamped, suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening.

One popular tracker Web site showed more than 16,000 people currently downloading the film via BitTorrent.

Hollywood is trying to avoid the fate of the music industry, which claims it has lost hundreds of millions of dollars worth of sales to illicit file-sharing networks.

Movie files are about 50 times larger than music files, which makes them much more cumbersome to download, but new technologies like BitTorrent and increased high-speed Internet penetration are closing the gap.

Lucasfilm Ltd and the MPAA were not immediately available for comment.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/interne...eut/index.html

bboisvert

Meh... every movie released is pirated shortly after (and often before) its release date. Just seems like media outlets are searching for material here.

I saw boots of Episode II a good week before release.

coladar

Yeah, one difference, this is a DVD-Rip. Most movies pirated are from hand-held cameras in the theatre. The fact that Episode 3 had a work-print dvd, with time stamp to boot, released before the movie was released is not something that happens often. Plus, well... It's Episode 3.

headrippa

It's crap anyway, its not at ration and other assorted stuff. This is what I've heard, I wouldnt waste my eyes on watching it on my monitor or dvd player just yet, I need a few more cinematic experiences with it.

mikehunt

lately a lot of movies on bit torrent are dvd screener rips

naitram

I really don't think it will keep anyone from buying a ticket.

glassdragon

yeah i doubt it too... Lucas will still make a bazillion dollars on the movie no matter what

Rogue588

But he wants it to be a bazillion and one dollars..

FantasticVSDoom

Well, I guess now we know why the film only made 16.5 Mil at midnight and not 20 Mil...Damn you bootleggers

Original Desmond

I saw the movie at the theatres and will do so at least once more

Also downloaded the dvd workprint for rewatching, so i don't feel bad

BTW the Aspect Ratio problem can be fixed

QuiGonJosh

I will never watch a bootleg, especially of a Star Wars movie, which requires to either be seen in a theater or on a nice TV with 5.1

PixyJunket

Ah, little kids on the internet.

al_bundy

this gives me an excuse to leech of my neighbor's wireless network now

Snowmaker

Has anyone watched it yet? Being a Lucasfilm workprint, I'm wondering if it has any of the deleted stuff.

Fok

Oh well had to happen, glad I saw in the theatre though, nothing can beat that.

bhk

I saw it in a DLP theater with a huge screen and awesome digital sound(almost as good as my sound system at home). Nothing can beat that.

Superboy

Saw the workprint before the theatrical version...I was amazed at how much stuff they cut out....then again it was incredibly long.

mdc3000

wait, is the internet pirate version LONGER????? What was in the workprint that didn't make the cut (i'm dying to know!)

MATT

SubZeri

I skipped the opportunity to download the movie. Watching cheesy movie rips pales in comparison to seeing it in the theater or waiting for the actual dvd. It's kind of like mp3's, a shoddy imitation of the real thing.

ravan

What?! There's a movie at 11? Great scott!

Also - yes these damn pirates are hurting the biz!! Look, ROTS only made $50 MILLION in 24 hours!

Superboy

Or maybe Hollywood isn't making enough "black-guy-meets-white-guy" movies. We definitely need more of those. Oh, and those Epic movies where two armies charge each other. Oh, and classic and neoclassic childhood stories brought to life on an epic scale with intense CGI, bad acting, and little to no plot development. Oh, go ahead and throw in a few sequels that were totally unnecessary.

resinrats

I never understood the reason people do this. What do they get out of it? It sounds like they are letting people download it for free. Why would someone open themselves up to legal troubles to let people get stuff for free? I sure wouldn't and wouldn't tell people that I had it. Since they are breaking the law anyways, might as well profit from pirating the movie.

slcsnkman

The do this because they are too damn cheap to pay for a movie. I love to go for the previews, the big screen and the nice system.

Chrisedge

U.S. shuts down network that leaked 'Star Wars'

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/crime_starwars_dc

Bummer...

mgbfan

I'm not a big fan of illegal copies of movies, but if this copy has extra footage, I'll download it for damned sure. And it won't hurt Lucas a bit because I'll probably see it in the theater once more and will buy the DVD when it comes out.

Can anyone confirm the extra footage?