During last few years I have been in movies ~3..5x a year. It’s not even because I download movies from the net.

Once in 2..3 months I “discover” that I have not downloaded anything, then go and see what’s hot and well.. maybe find 1 or 2 movies that catch my eye. Usually one of them is total waste of anybody’s time, meaning if I would have seen it in the movies I would have felt totally ripped off (Like I felt with Surrogates), and would feel totally ok downloading movies again until I find one that I like.

So I don’t think pumping out crap and complaining about people not paying full price to see it is in any means justified business plan.

This is the lesson that Hollywood should learn. A good movie is not decided on how much money you spend on a film or the most famous actor you get to star in your film, but how well you write your script or how well your actors act.

One of the most recent films I saw in theaters with a low-budget and unknown actors was, Paranormal Activity. Although many feel that it was not scary, you must look at the bigger picture. This film was low-budget and the actors were not paid millions. These actors played their role so well so many people who exited the theater thought the film was “REAL”. These kind of films I would not mind paying 5-10 dollars a ticket.

Now for music… Theoretical dollars lost. That is complete bullshit. I have only bought an album 5 times in my life. I have have been downloading pirated music, for like 5 years. I am older than most so please do not add false numbers. Just because I download your music does not mean that I would have bought the album if I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I would never pay the outrages amount of 20 dollars an album just to hear one good song. I say to the RIAA, FUCK YOU!

Here’s what I learned in high school maths m8:

Correlation does not equal causation.

So it appears your education is lower than highschool. Touche you fcukwit. Next time you think of opening your stupid, ignorant mouth, let me know first… I want to be there to p!ss myself laughing again.

It figures they would completely ignore the obvious.

That could easily be argued as the effects of competition from smaller Indie film makers. Only an idiot would believe that income would move in a linear scale with the number of movies. Here’s some basic “math” for ya. Movie production in 2008 is 80 some odd percent higher then it was in 2004, while income has increased by only 4% give or take. In order for the profit per movie to stay the say, people would be required to spend 80% more on movies then they did 4 years ago. Name me ONE person you know of…ever…that’s received raises over the course of 4 years that boosted their income by 80%…a 4-5% increase in spending is keeping in line with the average persons increase of income.inflation etc.

I do not pay for any Major Studio Movies that are GARBAGE (which most of them are sadly, amazing how more money does not make better movies) but i will go see a good movie in the theatres still…

if i add up all the crappy hollywood movies i have seen for FREE (in nice HD x264 quality with DTS 5.1 sound) I realize that if I paid for all of them I would be out thousands of dollars for sh*t that does not deserve a penny for it…

i’m sorry but me being able to eat more is more imporant than me helping paying for some bad actor’s car or sony’s douchebag’s new yacht

cheesy but: FIGHT THE POWER

well if you are that’s just plain sad… you side with the bully and help them support keeping all the little people being beaten down… pathetic… if you’re not one of them especially

I used to buy a CD or DVD here and there to “do my part” in contribution, but in the last few years it’s been simply disgusting what the RIAA/MPAA are doing to the little man… and trampling on rights that prevent them from making the same insane profit margin they had for years…

but NOW i support piracy 100%… piracy is OUR WEAPON against these greedy bastards… i have been an extremist and don’t pay for any music or movies any more THAT COME FROM A MAJOR STUDIO…. they make enough money, and if they don’t — then their crap is not worth our hard-earned $$$ how can i justify my hard-earned $20 to be split
90% to the fat cats and 5% to the artists… i can’t and now we have a choice and we won’t

now I pay for what deserves to be paid for from the major studios, but do buy a LOT MORE from the little studios and indies…

i don’t have to justify my piracy to closed minded ignorant fat cat supporters like you… times of millions made in hollywood are over… like someone said here: “wouldn’t you want to be a star even if you got paid thousands instead of millions”
hell yes

it simply pisses all the top dogs off that we have a choice now… and look how much they’re lying to protect their kingdom of greed…

He’s just a spoiled child that doesn’t want to see his share of the pie shrinking. If he was intelligent he’d be working with the millions that would buy if the prices were lower and then maybe he wouldn’t need to worry about the piece of the pie getting smaller since he’d bring more pie into the pie… if u got my point… ;D

Amen to that. Sorry torrentzbeak but hes right. ^=^

You’re still daft, the key difference is still there, you simply refuse to accept that.

Comparison to theft
Further information: Dowling v. United States (1985)

Copyright infringement is often equated with theft, for instance in the title of the No Electronic Theft Act of 1997, but differs in certain respects.

Courts have distinguished between copyright infringement and theft, holding, for instance, in the United States Supreme Court case Dowling v. United States (1985) that bootleg phonorecords did not (for the purpose of the case) constitute stolen property, and writing:

interference with copyright does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud. The Copyright Act even employs a separate term of art to define one who misappropriates a copyright: … ‘an infringer of the copyright.’ …

The infringer invades a statutorily defined province guaranteed to the copyright holder alone. But he does not assume physical control over the copyright; nor does he wholly deprive its owner of its use. While one may colloquially link infringement with some general notion of wrongful appropriation, infringement plainly implicates a more complex set of property interests than does run-of-the-mill theft, conversion, or fraud.
—Dowling v. United States, 473 U.S. 207, pp. 217–218

The key distinction generally drawn, as indicated above, is that while copyright infringement may (or may not) cause economic loss to the copyright holder, as theft does, it does not appropriate a physical object, nor deprive the copyright holder of the use of the copyright. That information can be replicated without destroying an original is an old observation,[57] and a cornerstone of intellectual property law. In economic terms, information is not a rival good; this has led some to argue that it is very different in character, and that laws for physical property and intellectual property should be very different.[58]

As for your, “when you get 2 warnings” bull, it will never happen. Your assumption that anyone who posts in a board regarding this topic is a pirate is moronic. I do not pirate anything, however, since sony’s rootkit stupidity, I’ve taken a distinct interest in matters concerning my civil rights. The music and Recording industry are attempting to trample them. Therefore I no longer partake of their goods.

Furthermore, there is no U.S. 3 strikes rule, and infact many american ISP’s are fighting tooth and nail against such measures. I assume you are an American, as for the most part only americans are as narrow minded as you are, and people like you make me ashamed to be one.

Go chew on that, and next time you decide to equate copyright infringement to theft, do try and have at least a passing knowledge of law.

To put it bluntly, Michael Lynton is a liar.

“…potential blockbusters might not be made…”

Yeah, right. Does anyone seriously believe that a film likely to do well will be shelved because internet piracy exists? Hor$e$hit. The major studios would pimp their grandmother on the corner if there’s a potential dollar in it for them.

As for the fiddling of numbers, enigmax correctly points out that the total number of films produced and released has increased each year. The major studios DO technically make fewer films nowadays, but the reason has nothing to do with piracy. It just makes better business sense for them to have independent production companies be the producer of record and then the majors distribute them. It’s nothing but an accounting decision. And smoke and mirrors by Michael Lynton.

Don’t believe the hype. Because Michael Lynton is a liar.

I went to take my 3 kids to watch the new animated movie called Fantasic Mr Fox when i got there we went to buy our tickets and my kids we going to be frisked to make sure they had no sweets or anything i was shocked and there was no way in hell i was going to let anyone touch my kids like that.

I am a paying to watch a movie and they want to do that anyways i said to them we going in and not only me left a good 20+ people walked out too in disgust.

My kids had no coats they was in T-shirts and skirts.
Now why in the hell should i have to put up with that crap?
I now refuse point blank to ever go to another cinema again i would rather wait for it to come on pay per view or on british television.

I also dont listen to music i could not even tell you who was in the charts now infact the last CD i got was queens greatest hits years ago.

My kids dont listen to music they save their pocket money for games and if you ask me that is what is killing the industry kids dont listen to music much and films they ignore most kids play games and if i am not wrong games make more money then music/movie industry combined.

so why should i have to put up with searches and invasion of privacy just so they can say your clean i feel like i am the criminal and i have done nothing wrong at all

I guess beaky got their paycheque and will be back when they want more lol

What does he think pirates do with the money that they don’t spend on movies? Burn it? No, they spend it on other things, like their net connection, or computer gear, or food. The same amount of money goes into the economy, just not into HIS economy.

“Lynton begins by plugging Sony’s launch tomorrow of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, noting the importance of releasing it simultaneously worldwide.”

All movies should be released simultaneously worldwide. Releasing a movie in one country, then waiting 6 months to release it in others is for the birds.

““Online theft siphons billions of dollars out of the marketplace. That means less money to make movies. Projects get scaled back and others dropped. Some potential blockbusters won’t get made. Some new writers, actors and film-makers won’t get discovered,” writes Lynton, adding;”

And the fact that “stars” get paid 5-20 million per movie has absolutely nothing to do with it…

In reality, of course, freeing up all the excessive profit and wasted investment from the bloated narcissistic entertainment industry will allow it to be spent elsewhere. The overall ‘economy’ will not suffer one little bit.

Then how are they supposed to make money or grow as a business? Do you even know anything about the econamy. Consumer contributions are a huge part. That’s what makes the business cycle possible. Creators create and consumers give back to them, helping them create more and sustain themselves.

What makes you think that you are entitled to enjoying the fruits of the entertainment industry and yet they shouldn’t benefit from this? Hm?

I’m going to try and make this very simple for you to understand. When I download (make a copy) of a piece of software, the original still exists, and is in the hands of the actual owner. No theft has occured.

You don’t understand what intellectual property is. All those copies (because they were derived from that one original copy) are the property of the respective studio. They aren’t yours to handout whenever you feel like it. All that’s being sold of ANYTHING is copies. Just because they are not the one who created the copy, doesn’t dissolve it’s ownership. Because people are content with their pilfered copy, people have no incentive to actually pay for what they enjoy, and thus the creators lose money. Is that simple enough for you?

You are stealing their intellectual property. Physical stealing isn’t a requisite for theft, since copying is inherent to the digital medium (you can’t steal a physical copy over the internet.)

If you give humans a easy way to get something for free, they will do it. Don’t punish the humans, fix the technology somehow so it’s hard for them to do so.

Are we talking about removing personl accountability. For the record, it is not easy. They have to create the software, buy the servers, maintian them, pay the legal fees etc. It is a lot of work. They made their decision to ignore the law and pretend like they live in a world where they are entitled to everything and money doesn’t exist.

Where in the law is written that copyright infringement is theft?

Do you really need the law to tell you that taking things without giving back to their creator is wrong? What’s the matter with you?

Why you keep saying “the law” when you don’t really understand “the law”?

Oh, and you’re really one to talk about the law I guess. Copyright IS a law. When you violate it, you break the law. No matter how you try to dress it up, it’s illegal.

Copyright infringement is not a criminal offense it is a civil one and that is why you can’t send people to jail for it just ask for reparation.

So if file so good, then why do the victims of it have a right to ask for compensation for said damages (reperation)?

For your information, copyright violation in excess of $2000 is a criminal offense.

Fileshares are not making money out of it so there is no way to prove loss or even quantify it which is different when someone try something commercial and it is using it to make money, then you can quantify and prove harm, otherwise this whole think is just scared people playing chicken little with the public to hide their real intentions.

You honestly believe that millions of people stealing things as opposed to paying for them makes no difference?

Besides “the law” changes. In this case it was changed to reflect the desires of a few not the public. It is not a reflection of society, it is a reflection of individual greed trying to force people to respect absurd laws that can’t be enforced or even be taken seriously for any sane person. Those people are invading the privacy of billions of people, normal citizens that otherwise have done nothing wrong, people download so much that it is impossible to burn everything on a CD or DVD or keep buying 1 terabytes HDDs every year. No what most people do is listen to free radio and TV. You want the better analogy here it is, filesharing is the new TV and radio and as people didn’t pay for it before they are not going to start now. That analogy is as good as any, so why it can be the one?

Do you actually believe any of this? Do you actually think that people profiting from their own work is absurd? Im sure, no one wants to work to buy money for food either, so does that mean we should just start handing out free money to satiate the “majority”?

If the movie industry is losing money it’s because they are not being innovative enough. This is usually the fault of the CEOs. They don’t understand that fancy internet so they don’t want to adapt to it. People should no longer have to go to the movie theater in order to watch a new movie. Why can’t the just spend their $11.00 to download it and stay at home?

Earth to josh. There are plenty of legal places for getting movies. Itunes, XBOX live, netflix, etc. But pirates don’t use them.. why? Because they don’t know what paying for things is.

Well, he thinks it might add millions to his economy.

In reality, of course, freeing up all the excessive profit and wasted investment from the bloated narcissistic entertainment industry will allow it to be spent elsewhere. The overall ‘economy’ will not suffer one little bit.

Wish I could live a delusional fantasy land world like top CEOs, and get paid a shirtload for it, even when I get sacked for wrecking the company.

To me that only looks like they are making more and more bad movies every year and the money still comes from the same amount of “good” movies they manage to make every year.

The problem isn’t people pirating stuff , the problem is it’s way too easy for people to pirate stuff.

If you give humans a easy way to get something for free, they will do it. Don’t punish the humans, fix the technology somehow so it’s hard for them to do so.

I personally love your comparison of sharing to say, using my WiFi bandwidth without my permission or driving my car and using my gasoline without my permission.

I’m going to try and make this very simple for you to understand. When I download (make a copy) of a piece of software, the original still exists, and is in the hands of the actual owner. No theft has occured.

When you use my bandwidth without my permission, the bandwidth you are using is no longer mine, it’s not there for use on my PC, gaming console etc. It has been stolen. When you take my car….it’s no longer then, it’s been stolen. Same for my gasoline. If you somehow managed to make a “copy” of my car that was a perfect replica in every way imaginable, and drove THAT around, it wouldn’t be stolen, since I would still have my vehicle.

That being said, you, sir, are an idiot.

You are seriously delusional if you think any hater of the MPAA is ever gonna listen to your crap.

I hope you enjoy wasting your time. Good for you. If anything your idiocy just turns people off even more and pushes them further from ever buying a movie ever again.

Most movies are ‘based on’ others works (i.e. intellectual theft/plagiarism) and yet the purveyors of these movies want us to respect their ‘rights’ as they disregard others rights? Sorry, but I don’t pay the GM assembly worker every time I hop into my car & there is no way I’ll be paying some bloated Hollywood leech for marginal quality ‘product’.

I will pay for original, good quality material though.

Hmmm…your arguments finished? you couldn’t make anything more up? LoL

If your only argument is that sharing is stealing then point us where in the law anywhere says that? LoL

Where in the law is written that copyright infringement is theft?

Because if you can’t do that, then all that talk about following the law doesn’t really mean anything to you does it now? since you only want to call the law when you think is in favor of your opinion LoL

Please show us where in the letter of the law is written that sharing is thieving LoL

I recon this whole thing is about power rather than anything else seeing as Piracy allows us to discover all kinds of things that the monopoly don’t want us to see.

I have X$ to spend every month and I sure spend it. Just because I don’t go see a movie by Warner Brothers doesn’t mean I won’t by anime from Japan.

The problem is that once they (let’s call em Hollywood) were the one and only retailer and now there are more who don’t even have to make commercials in order to sell their stuff.
Problem isn’t that people don’t buy things it’s that they don’t necessarily buy THEIR things.

For now there’s only one ruling party in China, it’s great, everyone who doesn’t know better probably think it’s acceptable.
Now, let’s pretend that we add another 50 parties to choose from…
Think the current rulers would like that?

Oh I get it, it’s all corrupt, so I’ll be corrupt, so you do exactly what you accuse “the man” of doing…and that make you right,. how?