Miramax Rewards Would-Be BitTorrent Pirate With Free Ticket

Written by enigmax on April 13, 2009 

It’s normal for BitTorrent users to be a tiny bit paranoid, since their activities aren’t always popular with everyone. But imagine musing via Twitter that your favorite movie isn’t on torrent sites yet and the next thing you know the studio is in direct contact with you, asking you not to pirate the movie – and giving you a free ticket in return.

Most people sharing files on the Internet are aware that at any time they could be being monitored by any number of anti-piracy companies, investigators or lobby groups. There can be little doubt that file-sharing forums and sites around the world are being watched to a greater or less extent for the purpose of keeping tabs on piracy. And you can safely bet that the RIAA, IFPI and MPAA will read this article, just as you are.

But what if a throwaway comment about torrents via Twitter was enough to put a movie studio in direct contact with you in a matter of minutes? This is what happened to photographer, writer and Twitter user Amanda Music, as she wondered;

Ugh WHY IS ADVENTURELAND NOT ON TORRENTS YET?

Amanda told TorrentFreak, “My friends and I usually wait to download cams of movies. We have yet to find one for Adventureland. So I was Tweeting about it. My friends were too though, but I guess they didn’t put torrent & Adventureland in the same sentence.”

It seems these keywords were being monitored by Hollywood studio Miramax, presumably to find out quickly when their movie hits the web. But instead, Miramax actually responded to Amanda and asked her not to use BitTorrent to get the movie;

Cmon Amanda, don’t do it. #adventureland #fbi

“Miramax found my Tweet through a search and told me not to do it. In a nice way,” Amanda told TorrentFreak. “I had already looked for the torrent and didn’t find one so I decided to reply and say that I wouldn’t download it. I was joking in a way.”

Amanda replied to Miramax, “Okay I won’t, JUST FOR YOU,” but to her surprise they responded again.

Miramax

And Miramax were true to their word – almost. They provided Amanda with a code for a single free ticket and since Amanda is currently in New York City, she will go see Adventureland today.

“I was pretty surprised about it,” explained Amanda. “I couldn’t find a working Adventureland torrent anyway.”

thanks to iheartmovies

Previously:

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125 Responses

1 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:33 by Charax

In Miramax land, 2 = 1

2 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:36 by interesting

to their credit this is good business practice indeed. i never ever go to the cinema but next time a miramax film comes around i might change my mind on that. and this is what miramax was counting. good publicity.

3 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:37 by Michael

That’s freaky, in a cool kind of way.

4 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:38 by Anonymous

Hopefully she’ll cam it for the rest of us whilst she’s there.

5 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:40 by Robert Kuykendall

They were so nice, they hash tagged their tweet #fbi. Is that a threat?

Now instead of watching the movie at home with her friends, she gets to drive to a theater and watch it by herself with 200 strangers.

I guess nobody cares she got a free ticket, since they made all their money off the $4 soda she bought anyways.

It’s interesting that Miramax did this, but I don’t see how it solves anything.

6 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:42 by Dan

That’s really cool. Instead of being negative Miramax approached the issue positively.

7 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:45 by Zack

“Hopefully she’ll cam it for the rest of us whilst she’s there.”

HAHA, yes!

8 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:48 by Sandeep

Really really freaky !!

9 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:48 by Anonymous

Well that was nice.. :)

Wish i could get a 52″ fullHD widescreen TV with a blu-ray so i could buy my movies and enjoy them instead of downloading torrents on my computer, watching them 1-2 times then delete them.

Oh and a nice home cinema speaker system too plx :)
Then you are 1 pirate less, promise!

10 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:51 by Anonymous

“Now instead of watching the movie at home with her friends, she gets to drive to a theater and watch it by herself with 200 strangers.”

Yeah, they’ve done her such a great disservice by giving her a free ticket… they should be ashamed of themselves.

11 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:57 by Reventon

I’m gonna dload everything on PirateBay.

Do I get something to dissuade me?

12 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:59 by Elijah Grey

Miramax has said the same message to many people: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23fbi+MiramaxFilms

13 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:00 by aires

Torrentfreak and miramax partership…
never more i’ll read this blog…

14 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:02 by Anonymous

Amanda – in order for you to obtain your free movie code please provide us with the following info:

First name
Last name
Current Address
DOB

Also would you like to sign up your friends for free movie codes?

Friend’s First Name
Friend’s Last name
Friend’s Current Address
DOB

yeah right….

15 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:02 by Anonymous

eh I buy what I like anyway, most of what I watch is Canadian and forign films.

16 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:03 by No-One

lol @ #4

hey thats great. would have never expected something like this. i guess from now on there will be more tweets like hers trying to grab some free tickets.

17 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:17 by What-you-talkin-about

So if everybody who downloads movies posts something similar to this on Twitter, would we all get free tickets too? If millions of people do this, would it not be the same as just staying home and downloading it?

I like the Miramax did this, very good publicity for them.

18 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:24 by Josh

Yeah… #fbi… so nice and positive.

19 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:25 by yogi

Sounds like a much better approach – at least the studios are trying to behave like human beings.

Making it personal will make a difference to a lot of people. So if they are consistent this could mark a big change for them.

20 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:32 by kenny

interesting idea but what is the catch other than not downloading it?

21 Apr 13, 2009 at 19:55 by gbear14275

Thats pretty awesome! While its still them trying to discourage people from using technology, which is bound to fail in the long run if they don’t provide alternatives (electronic distribution that’s easy, legal and DRM free), I have to say this is a positive step! I for one will be purchasing a DVD copy when it comes out! Nice work Miramax and I promise not to DL it either just because you asked (almost completely) nicely! Also shows what a little bit of human interaction can do!

P.S. Leave off the #fbi tag next time. Thats pretty… wrong.

22 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:03 by ABR

should work better than sueing people!

23 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:05 by not you

In related news, Twitter service is unavailable due to flood of users changing their status messages to “Why is ${newmovie} not on torrents yet?”. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

24 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:14 by Fandango Ticket user

FYI – a single code does equal two tickets on those Fandango cards. :-)

25 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:16 by cjc

test

26 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:18 by timothy7

You guys still realize that the studious are still way off the reality…they believe people download no to pay the ticket LOL > PEOPLE DOWNLOADS TO PREVIEW, so it won’t pay for a 2 hour b*llsh*t….

27 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:37 by Nigel

The funny thing about this is that it’s an actual lost sale. They got it wrong again but I commend their effort.

Nigel

28 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:52 by Jasper van Weerd

@lets start tagging all kind of random messages with the #fbi tag. Idee?

29 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:54 by Jasper van Weerd

That should be @5.

30 Apr 13, 2009 at 20:57 by The P!nk Pr!nce

Well done Miramax!

31 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:08 by Me

My couch is about a hundred times more comfortable than a seat in a theater. Plus I can pause/rewind.

Theaters could be free and make money off of concessions only (even non-overpriced ones) and I still wouldn’t go.

32 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:10 by Anonymous

“Hopefully she’ll cam it for the rest of us whilst she’s there.”

lol

33 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:23 by Widowmaker

Ugh WHY IS ONEMILLIONDOLLARSINMYBANKACCOUNT NOT ON TORRENTS YET?

34 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:23 by BruceLD

Miramax and all movie companies could discourage piracy by lowering their prices and quit suing little old ladies, single parent families and college students.

Of course the movie companies won’t do that. Piracy will just become more popular because the movie industry can’t see plain logic.

35 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:32 by mko

Nah sorry it’s not about tickets it’s about going to a movie theater for me.

36 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:42 by Wake_Up_Studios

What they need to do is lower prices – I can rent a new movie at the DVDPlay Kiosk for $1.49. Why should I pay $5 at bellvideostore.ca to download? It would also help if it were in a format I can load onto a memory stick and play on my DivX player. Give us a better deal.

37 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:55 by Anonymous

I have to wonder how many offers aXXo might have got for free theater tickets?

38 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:56 by Gabeloo

Clearly, Miramax wants to rape Amanda.

39 Apr 13, 2009 at 21:57 by Bacon

Why would you post incriminating evidence on a popular site? Offense intended.

40 Apr 13, 2009 at 22:08 by Dave

I don’t think movie producers should be too concerned with downloads.

Cinema pwns cam/ts/r5 etc. By the time a decent release comes (dvdrip/1080p mkv) the movie is old news. Everyone is posting spoilers all over the net so the movie gets wrecked. I wouldn’t risk waiting for any movie that I might really enjoy.

I mean movies like Dark Knight wouldn’t be earning record profits if everyone was downloading it.

41 Apr 13, 2009 at 22:16 by ddddd

If only every film could be like this…

42 Apr 13, 2009 at 22:20 by Not fast but damn furious

Movie for 2 on Saturday $37.96 US, 1 popcorn, and 1 soda, plus $1.00 because I had the audacity to use my debit card instead of cash. So $38.96, gee can’t imagine why anyone would download a movie for free when it’s so affordable to go to the movies. Well see you next year movie studios on my annual “remind myself why I don’t go to the movies anymore” trip.

43 Apr 13, 2009 at 22:20 by Anonymous

the theatres themselves are poor business nowadays, i wouldnt take a free ticket, 10 years ago i would spend $5 on a movie ticket and get ripped off on consessions but that was fine, smoke a joint and enjoy the show, nowadays the police are all over the place monitoring your every move, tickets are 20 per person, smoking bans everywhere its not fun
maker a higher volume of sales at a lower price, high price tickets make more money too but who gets more income walmart or bloomingdales; lower price is the way to fix lost sales

44 Apr 13, 2009 at 22:25 by Gargamel

So did she show up the theater where she was thrown into the back of an FBI van & she was interrogated for hours on end?

“WHERES THE TORRENTS! WHO ARE THEY! WE’LL KILL YOUR DOG!”

45 Apr 13, 2009 at 22:29 by Jasperloma

I like going to the movies. I don’t eat popcorn and I don’t like corn syrup sodas so, I guess it is a cheap date for me. I have the same attitude toward movies as audio. I want to a quality experience. Watching some dufus’ cam recording is not it. Your mileage may vary.

46 Apr 13, 2009 at 23:02 by JTK

A much better approach.

47 Apr 13, 2009 at 23:06 by N/A

Jasperloma – I would rather just wait for a screener, or hell, even a 1080p version. Beets paying for a theater ticket and watching a shitty quality movie.

48 Apr 13, 2009 at 23:08 by huntudown

Sneaky information gathering techniques don’t go unnoticed. Soon the people with the “free ticket” will be utilized in a Government controlled botnet.

49 Apr 13, 2009 at 23:12 by Basement Warrior AHAHAHA too Great

rather interesting tactic’s by miramax, hmmmm. Very cool on Miramax’s part,

50 Apr 13, 2009 at 23:30 by DuDeMaN

Hey at least they didn’t say “we’ve reported you to the FBI your going to be sued and you will burn in hell for eternity!!” lol. it actually shows they might be figuring out the prior threat just doesn’t work. Hmm, I wonder if hell is freezing over. Either way, props to MiraMax for this one good thing they’ve done. Hopefully the trend will continue.

51 Apr 14, 2009 at 00:20 by Anonymous

I wont spend money on products or services from companies or institutions I dont like. I dont think im alone on this. Maybe this is the beginning of ‘their’ side understanding this?

52 Apr 14, 2009 at 00:22 by Sell Fish

OK I give in! I’ll go to the cinema but only if I can hold the remote!

53 Apr 14, 2009 at 00:34 by Ragdrazi

Net sense made? Zero.

54 Apr 14, 2009 at 00:56 by Jason

Do you imbeciles not get it!?

The first, or the first few, get away. This attracts those kind of tweets. When everyone’s tweeting about their torrent usage, ZAP! You just got owned by the nice guys =(

55 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:03 by riaarard

According to the financial numbers released by the movie industry, they can still make a great movies that outdo Jurrasic Park, Titanic and Harry Potter in sales, and yet somehow they cry that piracy is destroying them and ruining their sales.

I’d love to be the judge when they are made to explain how if they are having such a great financial year, so how are they losing money?

Once again the movie industry defies logic.

56 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:04 by bluesharmonica

miramax did nothing more to convince this girl not to download it. they just gave her a different way to see the movie without paying for it.

anyway regardless of that what is the point of wasting bandwidth downloading ‘cams’ they are wasted of time.

Movies thesedays are shit and not worth seeing. IN the 90’s I purchased loads of DVD’s there were loads of good films.

But the last 5 yrs have produced only a handful of notable movies.

TV is where it is at. The pilot of caprica was awsome.

57 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:06 by bluesharmonica

Forgot to mention, I just read a headlone on google news.

Obama is cracking down on Piracy.

here we go I thought.

But when I read the article they were talking about Piracy on the high seas by these Somalians.

58 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:08 by itsme

It’s been so long since I’ve bothered getting a movie over the Internet. I typically go out to the theatre, pay for a ticket and enjoy it with friends. I usually eat before so I don’t pay for the theatre’s stupid food.

Am I being ripped off? Maybe, but hanging out with friends somewhere other than home is worth it.

That said, when I wasn’t making decent money I could totally see the benefit of not paying for each and every movie or song.

I also feel as if I owe it to content producers to help their revenue stream.

*shrug*

I love that Miramax is being nice here other than the #fbi comment. More human interaction, more interesting content and more innovative delivery mechanisms without stupid restrictions is how companies will make it past the next 10 years.

59 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:10 by itsme

In fact, I think Miramax realises that they’re not going to get everyone to pay all the time.

If they are not part of the big, evil, average-joe-indicting machine then at least the ones of us who do pay will be less put-off and more likely to continue to do so. ;)

60 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:12 by John Griggs

lol, you merely reworded iheartmovies’ post, got it on digg and just left a little tiny link? how considerate.

61 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:14 by itsme

Actually the best thing movie producers could do at this point is make it super-easy to build a one-stop box full of all of your movies, not crippled by DRM which you could go to whenever you want to watch something.

My biggest draw to piracy now would be that my Blu-rays are all stored on discs which I have to find and pull out whenever I watch a movie.

If I had those files, unencrypted and on my MCE PC I’d be completely happy.

I’d buy MORE movies.

Sure other people would STEAL more movies.

It’s a win-win though because that means those movies get extra market penetration and let’s face it, the pirate probably wasn’t going to pay for it anyway.

It’s all about perceived value. If they don’t perceive any value, they won’t pay.

Period.

62 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:14 by Miramax

Come on guys dont be pirates

63 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:18 by itsme

LOL @ Miramax…

I actually wish someone at Miramax were reading this – and my posts.

I’m giving you the voice of the paying consumer who is drawn to piracy because of inefficiencies in the system. I wish someone would listen.

64 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:21 by Reasoned Mind

“the pirate probably wasn’t going to pay for it anyway.”

Probably true. But that would also apply to the person sneaking into a theatre, the guy splicing in and stealing cable tv, the car thief, the shoplifter. But we hold all those accountable. Online piracy will be held accountable someday, while we struggle to keep active as many of the online piracy laws as the digital thieves will eventually allow.

65 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:29 by itsme

There’s this disconnect between what creators and consumers consider property these days.

People feel as if content creation is less of a community and more a stagnant machine of bland, uninteresting and restricted carbon copies.

Hold all of your potential customers “accountable” and you’ll just drive them to other activities.

Case in point, I don’t watch many movies. I pay for them in general but they have to be damn good.

If it’s hard to find what I want or hard to justify watching something I just won’t. There’s so much else to do in this world.

As well, I’m the one with the money who has no problem paying for things. When you hurt my relationship with you by using crippling DRM, or by indicting people who use even tiny snippets of your films in editorial sprit or when you use DMCA takedowns to remove a video of some kid dancing to music, that’s when I don’t feel as if your content is worth it.

I as a paying customer become disgusted with such utter disregard for your common man and I choose to go outside and get some exercise instead of paying to watch your movie that day.

Fuck… you…
Reasoned mind my ass. :P

66 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:39 by itsme

Reasoned Mind: So that means you should enact futile DRM schemes, sue random people, issue DMCA takedowns on content that’s obviously a legitimate fair use case and generally be an ass to the paying public?

I don’t think that’s very reasoned. It sure would make me less likely to buy from a company like that.

67 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:40 by itsme

Oh lets not forget the anit-piracy posters in the damn theatre and anti-piracy ads on theatre movies.

I paid a good chunk of money to see this damn movie. You can shove your anti-piracy ad right up your arse. ;P

68 Apr 14, 2009 at 01:42 by itsme

Oh and don’t you worry. Just because you’re making people shy away from paying for movies doesn’t mean they’ll pirate them.

Personally I’ll be going outside and getting some exercise, or I’ll play my guitar, or I’ll do any of the millions of other things there are to do in the world other than listen to industry controlled media. :P

69 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:02 by HAHA

#38

LOL

70 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:03 by DANK

It’s a Trap!

71 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:03 by Ben

I never heard of adventureland before now. Just pirated it. Will watch it tonight. I bought a 2 liter and some popcorn for $2. Fuck the high priced gold butter at the theater.

72 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:12 by Paul

Its really hurts the industry when you dont go to the theatres at all (like this girl) and just download cams/ts. Go to the theatre if you think its a good movie – it’ll be much better quality. If its a movie you’re not so sure about fine watch a cam – but dont do this often. And then try to give something back by giving a review on imdb.

73 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:28 by Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE

Allow me to tell you a storey aobut piracy and miramax

ya see there was a film called HACKERS
and a version of the film NOT released in north america had a tv playing
and on that TV mentioned a trade marked and copyrighted organization called:

United Hackers Association
it mentioned bad things they were doing when in fact no such activity could be proved and has yet in 15 years to be proved by any so called members.

Perhaps miramax should be paying the UHA some cash for use of the film and perhaps they should be paying a royalty for said use of name and trademarks and the UHA will donate every dime to charities around the world, for the MILLIONS they are owed.

74 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:29 by d2lv

ITS A TRAP, they’re setting up a profile for pirates!

75 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:36 by XCoNOMICRON

wats the point in getting popcorn and soda for 15 bucks…while as after the movie you can spend 10 bucks at a restaurant….I only spend $5 bucks when I go to the movies…thats with a $3 student discount…after the movie i usually go to wing stop!!! dont hate on the wing stop—

i do say i still pirate a shitload of movies, but going to a cinema is no problem for me…bc i dont spend a fortune. i think that wat Miramax did was a +1 on the positive reinforcement scale.

76 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:41 by anon

why in 2009 are people seeking out CAMS?

77 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:49 by DeMon

its funny cause you KNOW they did this because they knew she would share the experience. interesting way of handling the situation though i must say.

it sure is a lot nicer than suing her for the undoubtedly high number of “illegal” files she more than likely has on her computer!

78 Apr 14, 2009 at 02:58 by God 2.0

hmmmm, free publicity anyone?

Hacks.

Wow, I hate advertising like this. The most powerful free advertising if the “word” of mouth shit like this.

79 Apr 14, 2009 at 03:27 by Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE

heh
let me also tell you another storey
once upon a time welfare decided to have a seminar

those that completed it ONLY 5 out of like ten
got a 10$ movie card
not having been to one in a long time a man went.
1st he went on cheap tuesday night 4$ right? NOPE they took the entire ten for the movie.

SO he thought NO POP N POPCORN FOR YOU.
And hten he entered and saw the price.
pop n popcorn 17.07 , NOW 16.07
SAVINGS of 1$

BOY didn’t that make mister on welfare feel good. NOT only did htey take all the 10$ for a 4$ movie night but he had to sit there as every stared and wondered why isnt HE buying pop n popcorn?

NEVER AGAIN
EVER the MAN thought EVEN IF IT IS FREE.
Nohting like humiliating a person for being poor.

80 Apr 14, 2009 at 03:30 by Vypar

Maybe all other Hollywood studios should learn from Miramax, rather than sending file-sharers warnings they should provide FREE tickets… Bring it on!!!

81 Apr 14, 2009 at 03:34 by Ben

@Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE – maybe if said man learned to spell or even showed a tiny hint of education, he wouldn’t be on welfare. He should be working on some self-improvement techniques instead of going to the movies anyway.

82 Apr 14, 2009 at 04:20 by #fbi = epic fail

Christ, what dopey broad … instead of giving her a worthless ticket to view a worthless movie, Miramax should’ve gave the moron a f**king brain. “So I was tweeting about it.” I swear, people will “tweet” the STUPIEST nonsense … Amanda, I hope you get punched in the groin by locomotive @ full speed. As for Miramax, I love the transparent publicity stunt … way to fail with the “#fbi” idiocy. You hypocrites are as full of fail as Amanda… <3

83 Apr 14, 2009 at 04:27 by #fbi = epic fail

Not to mention “stupidest” … Amanda’s idiocy must be contagious… <3

84 Apr 14, 2009 at 04:37 by Turbis

This is actually very nice of them, but what do they gain from it?
People will stop torrenting because they think they will get free cinema tickets?
Dumb

85 Apr 14, 2009 at 04:40 by #YLS#

Whoa… Yeh why is it always the chicks who get in for free, lol.

Not sure what Miramax was going for here. Unless they give out free tickets left right & center it doesn’t make much of a difference.

I hate my local cinema, I’ll admit when I had a mate who got my free tickets I went but still I rather enjoy sitting down with a good DVDrip, a beer, good mates & the remote sitting next to me.

86 Apr 14, 2009 at 04:58 by penas

They shared you with *3letters* your tik was earmarked and now they have your mugshot. What about that for niceness?
Now they will follow everyone in this thread, in twitter AND real life. Watch your timeline for ppl allways two posts behind you.

87 Apr 14, 2009 at 05:24 by Anonymous

Amanda has bring shame on Pirates.She should be dumped in a cold lake.

88 Apr 14, 2009 at 05:36 by whatchamacallit

“Yeah, they’ve done her such a great disservice by giving her a free ticket… they should be ashamed of themselves.”

Of course they should be ashamed! They’ve prevented her from seeding a torrent and sharing with other people. <– Note that ernesto! :)

89 Apr 14, 2009 at 06:11 by Anonymous

This would be rather unappealing for me. I hardly speak for everyone, but where I am the only decent movie theater is about 40 minutes away. The 5 or so closer ones are all completely terrible. The only decent one was sold out to a large chain and then the service went to shit.

I’m not talking about employees, and general cleanliness, (only one of those is bad on those scores), but I refer to the lack of quality of the content. They have the audio feeds entirely messed up, often out of balance, and the equalizers are really poorly configured. The actual projectors themselves often have dirt and such on the glass, and they are often not bright enough, or too bright, messing up colors.

When I can get better sound with my modest sound system, and on my simple LCD monitor then a theater provides, it’s not worth it. Even for free. Even with free food. I’d still be paying for gas.

As I said, all a matter of preference, and where you live. For myself, I find that I can actually do significantly better at home.

90 Apr 14, 2009 at 06:58 by Ebumboo

Ugh WHY IS ADVENTURELAND NOT ON TORRENTS YET?

91 Apr 14, 2009 at 07:29 by Monster_mack

Amanda is a dumb fucking bitch who has no taste in movies because she watches camrips.

Wow, a free ticket, her prosperity for the rest of her life is guaranteed.

92 Apr 14, 2009 at 08:02 by my 2 cent car crash.

Did this ditz have a moviehouse co. on her freinds list then text that?
What a dolt if so.

93 Apr 14, 2009 at 08:05 by Anonymous

Downloading Adventureland. Getting a free ticket to see Adventureland.

There’s no difference between the two. It seems like a really classy move by Miramax until you actually stop to think about it, then it’s clear this is just a hollow publicity stunt.

“Cmon Amanda, don’t see our movie for free. Instead, here’s a ticket so you can come see our movie for free! #adventureland #fbi”

Yeah.

But to Hell with free, anyway. I wouldn’t go to the cinema if I was paid to(blame George Lucas, The Phantom Menace was the last straw for me).

94 Apr 14, 2009 at 08:26 by Jimmy

So the MPAA and RIAA “lurk” on this site, huh? No surprise since their trolls regularly tell us how evil it is to share movie files. But talk about torrents is fairly commonplace on all sorts of message boards. I always chuckle when I go to TV show websites and the posters routinely give a link to a torrent of the latest episode. To be helpful I help the noobs there understand what torrents are, followed by a disclaimer that I am “in no way encouraging copyright infringement.” Nod Nod wink wink. ;)

95 Apr 14, 2009 at 11:22 by Filip

One just might start using twitter…

96 Apr 14, 2009 at 11:25 by thisisdumb

this is such a spit in the face. Wow the great gods of fucking miramax decided to give 1 ticket. AMAZING, now she will be monitored, and probably will get caught like the dumb bitch she is.

97 Apr 14, 2009 at 12:27 by Up the Pirates

ADVENTURELAND NOT ON TORRENTS YET?

Not so sure

Google has 180,000 hits, (some look real)

TPB has 1

Wonder why TPB are waiting for a court ruling, not Google.

Anyway seems like a nice way for Miramax to get all of the contact details so they can pass them to MPAA and others.

Can you say Entrapment

98 Apr 14, 2009 at 12:46 by newromanzer

Thats really a nice idea of miramax!

99 Apr 14, 2009 at 14:01 by J

I’m calling fake. I can’t believe someone would talk about their torrenting habits on a big public site like that. Also, look at the MiraMax twitter search:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23fbi+MiramaxFilms

…bunch of people saying the same thing to MM about how Web 2.0 they are. Some of the accounts that said “I love that you guys are stalking people on the internet. Very Web 2.0.” have one post.

There’s nothing Web 2.0 about this, and I’m willing to bet it’s a publicity stunt.

100 Apr 14, 2009 at 14:54 by cOOl AmD

If she got a ticket …when would we get??

So Download instead wait..

Simple – Is’nt it??

101 Apr 14, 2009 at 15:04 by Anonymous

4 Apr 13, 2009 at 18:38 by Anonymous

Hopefully she’ll cam it for the rest of us whilst she’s there.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

102 Apr 14, 2009 at 15:10 by mankie goes to bollywood

Miramax now have all her info and her IP next time she downloads a torrent, BANG court for you young lady!

103 Apr 14, 2009 at 15:41 by Dave

@98

Exactly! She’s boned now….

104 Apr 14, 2009 at 15:50 by Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE

@ben go back to laemr school yo fooked lil twitter brain facts are it upset you that some one had negative to say abotu miramax , TRUTH is truth no matter how its spelt FOOL

this message was NOT spell corrected and from now on IM MISPELING EVRYTHING
JUST TO IRRITATE SUITS

105 Apr 14, 2009 at 16:25 by Anonymous

I might download this now just to see what the fuss is all about. ;)

106 Apr 14, 2009 at 17:21 by Jimmy

#99, believe me that people ARE talking about downloading TV shows via bittorrent on public message boards. That’s how I found out how to do it in the first place years ago. The moderators on these boards (fan sites, mainly) do not censor links to torrents or discussion about torrents at all.

107 Apr 14, 2009 at 17:43 by anupsharma

I am amazed at the new techniques that the “Studios” are using to prevent piracy. I do not advocate piracy in any way possible, but I do see that the rising costs of entertainment and no deviation for so long in the available formats for watching movies (DVD and Theaters) has left the end user no choice, this stagnancy is now ending with online downloads available, but they are not widely accepted yet. In fact you would be amazed to know how many ISPs check their users for torrent downloads and either throttle or block their usage. ( I had written an article on how to check if your ISP is blocking or throttling your ISP usage, if you want a quick read you can have a look it up at http://indiawebsearch.com/content/how-to-check-if-your-isp-is-blocking-or-slowing-bittorrent-content ) I believe its the general attitude that needs to change from “big powers” (Studios) and the end users too, in order to make any difference first!

108 Apr 14, 2009 at 18:08 by Zerp64

I wonder… maybe it’s totally untrue, it’s possible that companies like Miramax will eventually start listening to customers. In an ideal world, this might even mean that they’ll be slightly more open to alternate ways of distributing content. But I mean, this is just me being unrealistic and hoping for a better world…

I don’t think this comment makes sense anymore.

109 Apr 14, 2009 at 19:05 by razor

well the number one reason to download mivies is to watch it for free because just going to the movies now a days cost at least 30 bucks right, the only difference is that you have to wait for the download to finish and if its a crappy cam u have to wait for the dvdrip to come out or a screener so theres always some waiting involved.

so the point here is make movie watching cheaper and well probably stop downloading your crap, anyways the only reason i’ve ever donne it is because i wana make sure i’m not going to go waste mmy time and money on a crappy movie peace!!

110 Apr 14, 2009 at 21:28 by Anon

You know, I hate to say it, but when I read the MPAA’s news feed, I see all these internet tough guy rants about “OOOH you used an FBI tag you think you’re tough? Huh? Fuck YOU!”

The fact of the matter is, the corporation, as scary as you all think it may be, did something beside litigating and freaking out. Do you choose to commend them for a generally decent action?

No.

You instead read into it, assuming that “OH IF IT COMES FROM A CORPORATION GOD FORBID IT MUST HAVE SOMETHING BAD” Despite the nice gesture, you all immediately shit yourselves over “OH THE FBI TAG HOLY SHIT”. Was the tag a little unwarranted and forceful? Sure. But you all seem to focus entirely on that, despite that the organization did something decent for once.

I guess my issue is that I think this is the root of why the MPAA and all those other assholes choose to fight filesharing and piracy tooth and nail. What’s the point of trying to appeal to you guys, who are so inherently hostile?

In the end, the MPAA doesn’t get a chance, and that’s not fair. Have they done some sucky things? Sure. But does that automatically mean we have to declare Twitter jihad despite the end result of this little confrontation turning out positive. No. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Second guessing your enemy only leads them to believe the only way to stop you is to fuck you up. This only begets more bullshit because whatever a corporation does, no one is willing to give them a chance anymore. Can’t we all just get along and try to reason with each other for once? Or does it have to be the MPAA demanding “ALL FILESHARING PUTS YOU IN PRISON” while you all demand “EVERYTHING SHOULD BE FREE”, two extremes that will never, ever, come to a compromise? That attitude will get us nowhere. They made a nice move. Why can’t we repay it?

in before reasoned mind sock, endless flaming

111 Apr 15, 2009 at 06:41 by Philbert

#4 ROFL!!

But seriously I don’t believe this story at all.

112 Apr 15, 2009 at 07:50 by Anonymous

“Despite the nice gesture”

Nice gesture?

They gave her a ticket to see it for free to prevent her from… Uh… Seeing it for free. Y hello thar, publicity stunt!

“In the end, the MPAA doesn’t get a chance”

Good. It’s done nothing to deserve one.

“two extremes that will never, ever, come to a compromise? That attitude will get us nowhere.”

If you think compromising with the MPAA will get us anywhere, I suggest getting your head examined. Nobody has nor will ever have the power to put the P2P genie back in the bottle. Trying to fight it is an inherently losing battle, so there’s reason whatsoever to compromise with the MPAA. They’ve already sealed their own demise at this point, what on Earth could be gained from bargaining with a dinosaur which will just inevitably become extinct?

Not that this has anything to do with Miramax, anyway, because it doesn’t. They’re the ones who pulled this stunt, not the MPAA. You must be smoking something.

113 Apr 15, 2009 at 09:08 by Pirate-G

Everyone there watching us….watch who your talk to on Twitter. the movie must suck not to be on torrent lol

114 Apr 15, 2009 at 09:22 by Qix

This really does show how fast twitter has become big. Between this and the Cisco guy, you never really know who’s listening to your twitter.

Also, its pretty cool to see something on the more positive side rather than the threats we have learned to expect from them.

115 Apr 15, 2009 at 11:45 by Barbarian_From_The_North

The freakiest, yet coolest thing that the “other side” ever did :) Well seen difference between their dogs aka “copright sherrifs”, and the producers.

One side wants to kill us all, the other one wants us to see its movies (and sometimes, us to pay for it ^^).

I am the only one who see that the sherrif element is doing nothing but harm to both sides and good for none but themselves? :)

116 Apr 15, 2009 at 13:46 by Anonymous

give a free ticket to everyone, and than there will be no more pirates on the web.

that sounds like a plan.

117 Apr 16, 2009 at 03:24 by Anonymous

@112

You know, I understand this is the internet and insults are often used in place of insight, but calling me a pothead and making some awkward statements about how a bunch of teenage filesharers have the movie and media industries by the balls is kind of skewed. They aren’t going extinct, they have the political power to ensure that we go extinct. Your extremism is only gonna ensure that every filesharing client is banned with 3 years jail time for everyone caught. Is the free ticket a publicity stunt, sure. But that doesn’t make it an evil action. And what do you suggest is going to help the filesharing community? Resisting and spamming the twitter sites of movie corporations, while pretending we have some sort of “power” that is causing the multi million dollar industries to go “extinct?”

Please try to be more civil in your responses. I’m not a drug addict, nor retarded, and I didn’t call you one. I’m just making an argument, just because YOU didn’t like it doesn’t mean I’m stupid.

118 Apr 16, 2009 at 17:00 by madera

hola, soy madera de argentinia,

obama?

119 Apr 16, 2009 at 22:37 by Sane Man

Downloading movies is like online grocery shopping. Why to download?

I do not want to drive 30 mins to the cinema. I do not want to not have the coice of having a lager in or after the cinema (not that you can in).

I do not want to watch 25 mins worth of adverts for something i have paid to see ffs. Theres ad supported content then milking it. Im sorry but carlton on screen advertising can get f***ed.

I do not want to que. I do not want to miss the plot when i need a piss.

I do not want to usually go and watch the same s**t i watched last time.

120 Apr 16, 2009 at 22:37 by neko

and now they know [very cheaply mind you] EXACTLY who that twitter user is IRL

121 Apr 17, 2009 at 00:42 by Quite Strange

Surprisingly now i want to go see the movie, and in theaters:p looks like a decent movie. guess their tactic worked…

122 Apr 17, 2009 at 17:51 by Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE is stupid

hey Hacker/pirates of the world UNITE your comment number 79 thats the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. who gives a fuck and if people were actually watching the movie they wouldnt give a fuck if they guy had pop and popcorn or not

123 Apr 18, 2009 at 06:04 by molcos

well i dont go to cinema as its a rip off and im anti social too :D
if i like a film alot ill buy it,
when its on sale though

movie makers , stop releasing different cut versions extra bits edition movies
i stopped buying as many when just as i bought one version of a film i love , another version is released

just release it all in the beginning
i say try b4 u buy as alot of films are shite

124 Apr 18, 2009 at 09:28 by Michael

I’m sooo going to pirate a Ferrari. Unless someone’s going to stop me!

125 Apr 20, 2009 at 00:09 by ShadowfoxXXXX

WAIT A SECOND!!!!!!!!
Their entire argument is that downloading files takes away profits from the creators.
HOW DOES GIVING AWAY A FREE TICKET BENEFIT THEM ANY MORE THAN HIM JUST DOWNLOADING IT?

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