Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
By now, the story has spread like wildfire, which is, of course, the reason Matt Drudge printed it in the first place. I'm reprinting it because, at this point, I can't keep links out of our TalkBacks, even if I want to...
CHECK OUT THE STORY DRUDGE RAN HERE!!
I would pose this (sadly) increasingly rhetorical question: what value is there in reporting these stories? I want serious answers from you, the Talk Backers, or in e-mail. I want to know if you consider this news. Or is it just an advertisement for piracy? The more we the media cover the way films are bootlegged and distributed, the more we seem to be driving people to try these pirated sources. By putting this story out there, all I’ve seen Drudge’s story do is send people looking for it so they can download it themselves.
I really am clueless about this one. I review works based on early access, often without the explicit permission of the people who created them, so I am in no position to lecture anyone about their right to discuss these things. The one thing I will offer is that I never distribute anything. Not films. Not scripts. The Labs work as a one-way force of gravity, and that’s because I am frequently sent sensitive materials, things that someone wants me to see, but doesn’t necessarily want floating around out there.
These stories seem to be cropping up more and more frequently now, and sometimes they’re true, sometimes they’re not. Drudge doesn’t appear to have laid eyes on the bootleg print himself, but I’ve heard a few reports today that seem to verify the story. I'm mystified how it could be true, since I know what condition the film was in when New Line recently got their first glimpse at it. Even so, as these stories get reported more and more frequently, we are going to have to set a firm policy here at AICN regarding the coverage we afford them.
Here’s your chance to have a voice in that process. Let’s see what kind of discussion we can have, and I dare you to keep it civil and on-topic. Also, let’s try not to shatter international copyright law in the Talk Back, okay? I don’t want to have to delete your feedback.
"Moriarty" out.
