Alan Smithee

Apparently this thing isn't just being used in the US, and some discs are actually making it un-skippable! Found this response to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRVHUbrbEUA

Bill Geiger

nemein

Peep

Cute.

gryffinmaster

Got a chuckle out of that. Thanks.

DeanoBKN

Sounds like a good idea...

Duder

Points out the absurdity in putting that on legitimately purchased DVDs, something that's always bugged the hell out of me. Similarly, why do they have ads like that before movies that play in the theater? They're preaching to the choir, and pissing the choir off.

Tarantino

Good shit!

= J

ShagMan

Hahahahaha, so true, I loved it.

Definitely agree that's the wrong place for that advert!

matome

DVD Josh

My uncle who lives in NYC exclusively buys pirated DVDs. One we watched recently had this trailer in front of it. I thought it was ironic.

NatrlBornThrllr

Why is it a bad place to put the trailer? People do copy legitimate DVDs y'know (purchased and rented alike), and I think at the start of the DVD they'll be copying is as good a place as any for this trailer. Yeah, I find it annoying, and no, I don't think it'll do any good...but if it's going to exist, I disagree with the notion that on legitimate DVDs it's merely "preaching to the choir."

Anyway, cute spoof...made me smile.

Fincher Fan

Good one! I hate preachy commercials. This ad makes me want to go steal cars just out of spite.

grim_tales

Made me laff

MEJHarrison

I love the irony that the anti-piracy trailer was pirated off a DVD to make this video.

GIjon213

That was good trailer for the anti-pirate trailer. When I get home, I will watch the anti-pirate trailer just because this was such a good trailer for the trailer.

Mike Adams

All points given are pretty funny, but I think the message of the original trailer is completely valid. I think it's perfectly appropriate, and locking out the "skip" button is appropriate, if maybe a little extreme.

As with anything else, you don't just put the message "Say NO To Drugs" on a crack pipe. People who smoke crack drive cars, so they're gonna see the billboards along the highway. Unfortunately, a lot of people who would never do drugs in the first place have to see the same message, but the idea is that the choir won't mind being preached to because they're not the ones breaking the law.

I definitely sympathize with the guy who did the parody, and it is pretty ironic that if he did buy a bootleg DVD he wouldn't have to watch that trailer. It could be worse, though. There's no dialogue, it's not like someone's on the screen going on and on about this stuff, and if you spend that 30 seconds going to get some snacks, it's just cool background music. Why not make a game of it? Try to see if you can grab all the snacks you need for the movie before the trailer finishes. It does have kind of a "beat the clock" sound to it, after all.

Anyway, the idea is that people who download movies off the internet or buy bootlegs actually do watch legitimate releases, so the message will get to them. I'd also hazard a guess that with all the torrenting of DVD rips, that trailer has definitely been seen many times by people who download movies all the time. I'm sure it's also aimed at the "rent and burn" crowd, since making a bootleg DVD doesn't always involve sneaking a camcorder into a movie theater.

I've actually thought many times about including the one about downloading on future PDTV releases, since just because we create DVDs from out-of-print VHS tapes, it doesn't mean we think piracy is okay. A large segment of the unauthorized DVD market consists of either bootleg recordings of current theatrical releases or illegal copies of existing DVDs being passed of as official product. That kind of stuff is all about making money, and when you can actually see the movie legitimately or buy an official DVD release, you're stepping on the toes of everyone who's trying to recoup their original investment by selling movie tickets or legitimate DVDs.

At any rate, it's a funny parody created out of a frustration I think we all feel. I'd much rather sit through a message like that than have someone try to sell me something, but it's annoying nonetheless.

Mopower

These stupid trailers aren't going to stop anyone from copying a DVD. And the whole "Would you steal a car!???" message is so fucking stupid. Copying a DVD isn't like stealing a car. It's like putting a car into a cloning machine and driving away in the copy of the car with the original still the owners driveway.

Mike Adams

If that car has a "FOR SALE" sign on it, or it's on a dealer's lot (i.e. a video rental store) rather than someone's driveway, then I don't see how you can justify it. It's like saying that if you were able to "clone" a car just by taking a test drive (i.e. "renting" it), you'd have no problem with it.

The simple fact of the matter is that there's a large investment in any film, and the way studios recoup that investment is by selling movie tickets and DVDs. By sneaking into a theater with a camcorder or copying legitimate DVDs, you're stealing from the studio who made the film. The message of the trailers is that stealing is stealing, no matter how you do it. The people that message is aimed at make copies of DVDs to avoid paying for them, and contrary to popular belief, it's not "a smart way to save money", it's theft.

exharrison

Yeah, but if you are going to rip it off of the dvd, you can cut that part out or if you are just copying to resell, you won't have to see any of that. So, those who copy and resell won't even see it.

Ambassador

Funny! But don't forget the more obvious legal point: Stealing a car is grand larceny. Stealing a DVD is petty theft and often is treated as a misdemeanor -- if the store even bothers to prosecute, as Wal-Mart apparently no longer does. So even taken at face value, the original commercial/PSA makes a flawed comparison.

Mopower

I must be missing the part of my post that said copying a DVD was right. I said it's stupid to compare it to stealing a car or anything for that matter because the owner of the original DVD still has the original DVD after you have copied it.

Mopower

That's why I don't understand why the RIAA can sue someone for $5000 for downloading music but if you go into a store an steal a CD you get a small fine and a stern talking to.

bboisvert

While the 'message' of the trailer may be valid, the DISTRIBUTION of said trailer is entirely inappropriate. And there's definitely room to debate whether a trailer is an effective way of changing behavior. The 'just say no' campaign didn't work to cut down on drug use... I fail to see how the 'just don't pirate' message will work any better.

Placing it on DVDs is completely stupid. I just BOUGHT this DVD and the first thing I see is a message telling me to not steal it? And I get to watch this message again and again, every time I watch the DVD that I bought. Great. That helps the cause. (Not to mention that it is placed on some stupid, random titles. How many kids out there are pirating the Fox Film Noir series?!?)


And I'd like to hear your views on why locking out the skip button on this (or anything) is 'appropriate'.

Mike Adams

Well, maybe I went a bit too far in endorsing locking out user functions. The original intent was to make sure people couldn't skip past FBI warnings, etc. but it has definitely been abused by studios. As for the selection of titles, the first time I saw it was on "Sideways", so you have a point. However, I think it has more to do with how interested the studio is in protecting that title than how likely it is to be pirated. In fact, I think it's the product of only one studio (I could be wrong, though) so I'd expect you'd see it on any recent release from that company. Ideally, I think it'd be best if the studios only put that kind of stuff on rental copies, but of course you know that many people "buy, burn and trade/sell" as well as "rent and burn". The studios put that message there regardless of whether you bought the DVD or not, but because they don't know what you plan to DO with the DVD.

Debating whether it's gonna work or not isn't helpful, either. Whether it works or not, it's still annoying, and whether it's gonna work or not, it still needs to be said. The fact that people are already pointing out that it's not "really" stealing or it's not as bad as some other things just reinforces the point that the message needs to be put out there. As for whether the message is intended for you or not, it's kind of like passing a police car on the highway -- why does it bother you if you haven't done anything wrong?