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Movie Director Says it is OK to Pirate His Movie
torrentfreak.com — Last weekend, a CAM version of the Norwegian movie “Lange Flate Ballær II” leaked onto several BitTorrent sites. Quite surprisingly, the producer doesn’t hold a grudge against the person who leaked the film. Instead, he thinks it’s an honor that someone took the effort to record it in a movie theater.
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- Kasot, on 04/04/2008, -9/+21Progressing towards cultural utopia slowly, but steadily.
- bluezinc, on 04/04/2008, -7/+5Not.... really.
If free everything = utopia... why would people make these things in the first place?
Let me tell you, the gaffer want's his money at the end of the day.
Piracy simply sprang up because there's a market demand for very cheap media that you can get in the comfort of your own home and Hollywood hasn't even come close to meeting it. If they suddenly sprang up with an iTunes like service where movies were .50 to $1 each, I'm sure piracy would be drastically lessened.- Ragzouken, on 04/04/2008, -2/+5People would make these things for the sake of art, perhaps.
- cliffski, on 04/04/2008, -0/+2HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
yeah, people who make sets and operate cameras and sound booms do it FOR THE ART. they dont need to eat. - bluezinc, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1Yeah, expect to see Transformers 2 made for the sake of art.
- cliffski, on 04/04/2008, -0/+2HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
- Anon3870, on 04/04/2008, -3/+0It's not about people not wanting to pay. We are prepared to pay a fair price.
Also, so you're a complete master of modern economics, why would people pay for things like the RvB dvds and webcomic books? People have offered works people apreciate for free. And people have shown their appreciation.
Also, iTunes == rubbish. I'm in favour of direct downloads like Jon Coulton does. I'm prepared to pay to download that stuff. And then I can legally even give it to other people, and if they like they can donate. Also have a lsiten to 'Download this song' sometime.- bluezinc, on 04/05/2008, -0/+1Yeah... I said exactly that. Maybe read my comment before you disagree with it.
- Ragzouken, on 04/04/2008, -2/+5People would make these things for the sake of art, perhaps.
- Jrr6415sun, on 04/04/2008, -8/+2it must be a pretty crappy movie if he thinks it's an honor someone put in the effort to record it.
- Abomonog, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1I don't think free things was what he had in mind. I'm not sure what exactly he had in mind but I don't think it ends with free stuff.
But I must say, software and music piracy is not the monster it's thought to be and the makers are beginning to realize this. That the pirates are often better advertisers than even television. Take Sins of a Solar Empire.
The Stardock made game wasn't going too far until The Pirate Bay got a hold of it. Now it's not only the most seed game file on the public trackers, but also a number one seller in the legit market too. Dev teams are opting out of CD checks and such in favor of games that that have easily pirated single player campaigns but a secure multiplayer element (Company of Heroes is a good example here). Yeah games like TF2 get pirated also but servers for such games are hard to find and often too far for an American to get a decent ping. There is even one game (Carmageddon 2) where the pirated exe was used by the dev team as a fix for a cd drive incompatibility issue. You buy the game and have the issue and customer service will refer you to gamecopyworld.com for the fix.
- bluezinc, on 04/04/2008, -7/+5Not.... really.
- Shreyasva, on 04/04/2008, -8/+6he should be given an oscar for that
- surKaz, on 04/04/2008, -8/+8With that kinda attitude, his movie won't be downloaded at all, people donate him some money instead..
He should be all angry and whatnot, then his movies would be downloaded more..
But I like how he accepts the piracy, and probably understands how strong it is.. - Canadian0207, on 04/04/2008, -2/+19actually, directors trying to make it big love to have their movies distributed to as much of an audience as possible. Besides, it's not the directors losing money here, it's the producers and the corporate theatres.
- bluezinc, on 04/04/2008, -4/+1It's anybody who's salary rests on the success of the movie.
Also, producers need to get paid, they by far do the most work on a film. Producers, not executive producers. Anyways, I'm in school to become a producer myself, so I don't like to hear that people think it's ok that I don't get paid for bringing you a movie. If the director is the father of the movie, the producer is the grandfather. - SpencerLavery, on 04/04/2008, -1/+2Probably not your intention - but that statement makes me feel a whole lot better about piracy actually. The Director has talent - but he's not losing out. The writers/actors have talent - but they're not losing out. Going on what you've just said - the only people losing out are the corporate money-grabbing thieves who care more about the movie's profit than its success. My local movie theatre charges more money to see a film than it costs to buy as a brand new DVD. This is why piracy exists.
- bluezinc, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1Well, yes and no. In the film industry a lot of the smaller productions don't give the director a flat salary. They offer a lot of the people who actually make the movie a very small payment upfront and promise them a share of the profits.
But for the bigger movies that almost never happens unless you're a big actor who demands such a salary from their blockbuster movie. Jack Nicolson did that to play the Joker and subsequently is being given something like .05% of all the money generated by Batman comics. He made out like a ***** bandit and he could probably support a 3rd world nation with that kind of money.- SpencerLavery, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1And you're arguing that we should feel sorry for people like him? Until the big players in the film industry grow a conscience and actually start to "support a 3rd world nation" with the vast amounts of money they've accrued, a lot of people are going to have a very hard time feeling sorry for anyone involved in the industry. Those people are the figureheads, the spokespeople, when you think of films you think of them, and I'm sure that very few people would feel guilty for watching a millionaire's movie for free.
- bluezinc, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1Well, yes and no. In the film industry a lot of the smaller productions don't give the director a flat salary. They offer a lot of the people who actually make the movie a very small payment upfront and promise them a share of the profits.
- jamesdew, on 04/04/2008, -1/+0well obviously that depends if the director is working for a flat fee or if he is getting a profit %. I believe that usually it is a combination of the two
- bluezinc, on 04/04/2008, -4/+1It's anybody who's salary rests on the success of the movie.
- cowboy77061, on 04/04/2008, -3/+36his movie probably sucks though.
- rub1, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1Nope, Ive seen it, and its realy funny! Ii have the first one to "Lange Flate Ballær".And bouth of them are realy good movies.
- chrissku, on 04/04/2008, -17/+22Obama 08
- counterplex, on 04/04/2008, -1/+7Amazing how this comment - random and unrelated as it is - gets so many diggs.
- CrunchyDeluxe, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1McCain 08
- cRmtIMe, on 04/04/2008, -3/+12From the look of the thumbnail, I would guess he encourages people to illegally watch his movie because thats the only way it's going to be watched at all.
- Husvik, on 04/04/2008, -2/+6The movie actually broke records in theaters
- Azerael, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1Did you even read the article?
- DjOverEZ, on 04/04/2008, -3/+6It's likely because he can't get anyone to pay for a movie called “Lange Flate Ballær II”
- bosssmiley, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1It's the "II" that gets me. The first "Long Flat Ball Ear" was popular enough to warrant a sequel?!
- mojotooth, on 04/04/2008, -2/+4Directors, musicians, artists... The culture *creators* aren't nearly as bent out of shape about piracy as are the mega-corporations that control all that content. You can dig up a dozen stories about some artist or musician begging people to pirate his music so he will get attention and develop a following. This isn't news.
Find me a record label or a movie studio that is chuffed about a particular work of art getting pirated. Then we'll be getting somewhere.- cadmiumpaint, on 04/04/2008, -2/+3Don't assume that. Don't make an artist who wants to earn a living off of their work out to be the enemy. An artist has the right to set the value for their own work. When people like you start dictating to artists that their work is too worthless to pay for, you disrespect them and their work. Don't assume all artists want their work 'pirated' because the majority do not.
- bingobongony, on 04/04/2008, -1/+3You mean the crappy directors, producers, etc. who know they will never amount to anything don't care. The ones who actually SPEND THE MONEY, or have the most to lose by lower revenue do care.
If thedirector wants to give his wor away, then he can pay for it. Let's see how many more studios offer him ONE DIME for his next film. He just ***** his career. Rightfully so. - KingMoses, on 04/04/2008, -0/+4Gee, how odd; the people who actually own the content and stand to lose the most from piracy are the ones who oppose it.
Look, I get it, we all like to pirate content and pissing on "mega-corporations" is a nice way to alleviate any residual guilt that might leave behind, but if you're going to act unethically, just be honest with yourself and admit that it's wrong and either keep doing it anyway or knock it off. The blessings of a creative person who doesn't own the content doesn't change the morality of stealing the content.
- cadmiumpaint, on 04/04/2008, -2/+3Don't assume that. Don't make an artist who wants to earn a living off of their work out to be the enemy. An artist has the right to set the value for their own work. When people like you start dictating to artists that their work is too worthless to pay for, you disrespect them and their work. Don't assume all artists want their work 'pirated' because the majority do not.
- HouseofEl, on 04/04/2008, -5/+3It's a Norwegian film...Of course he doesn't mind that they are pirating his movie.
- rrbest, on 04/04/2008, -2/+4Norwegians make films?
- tikal2k, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1Yes, when they're not busy eating smoked salmon and venison.
- rrbest, on 04/04/2008, -2/+4Norwegians make films?
- j1ggy, on 04/04/2008, -8/+3This is how we take power back from the corporate entities.
- cliffski, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1tidy your room little boy
- Evi1d33d, on 04/04/2008, -6/+12***** the RIAA
- Ocelot13, on 04/04/2008, -1/+10no, wrong association
you mean
"***** the MPAA"- Azerael, on 04/04/2008, -0/+7Same *****, different *****.
- OaklandNative, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1Can't we ***** them both?
- Ocelot13, on 04/04/2008, -1/+10no, wrong association
- mddawso, on 04/04/2008, -0/+3I imagine that he would be pissed about quality of leak though. How could he not be?
- Oppslagsverk, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1Well you could read the article, if you wanted an answer to that.
- Snowli, on 04/04/2008, -6/+0look thats funny
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2355370 - Quaitemp, on 04/04/2008, -0/+4Harald Zwart also supports The Gathering. One of the biggest computer parties out there :)
- doctorpants, on 04/04/2008, -0/+5I actually auditioned for this film. Think about it, Norway has roughly 5 million people. The film is in Norwegian. It is popular here because it is a Norwegian comedy about 'typical' Norwegians. If every person in Norway saw it, it still wouldn't make much money. So to say it is okay to pirate could be a death sentence for the film. Or is it? Maybe the cam version would encourage purchasing the DVD or going to see it at the cinema. I am sure there are other opportunities to make money this way. Maybe others will pick it up in other countries when it gets subtitles. It's the 21st century. Business can embrace what is happening and redo their business model, or fight it and lose.
BTW: Don Johnson is in the film.- bingobongony, on 04/04/2008, -6/+1Yes...becuasey ou have done extensive studies on the fuutre of hte industry to make that prediciton.
The future will NEVER be to spend millions of dollars to make something and hten give it away. You have to be a complete ***** idiot to think that. But this is Digg...so ofcourse you get dugg up.- goffy59, on 04/04/2008, -1/+3Poor bingo....... buried.
- Oppslagsverk, on 04/04/2008, -0/+2And you get dugg down=) Use the spell checker.
- bingobongony, on 04/04/2008, -6/+1Yes...becuasey ou have done extensive studies on the fuutre of hte industry to make that prediciton.
- frogman54, on 04/04/2008, -0/+4I missed Lange Flate Ballær part 1, I hope I can follow the plot.
- MacintoshMan, on 04/04/2008, -8/+4I always come back to digg because it ceases to amaze me at the idiots that have to tell them selfs that A. Pot has ABSOLUTELY no harmful effects, or that its good for you. B. Stealing other peoples intellectual property isnt really stealing and that its only the BIG CORPS that dont like it.
I mean seriously? WTF. YOUR STEALING SOMETHING AND YOU EXPECT A POSITIVE RESPONSE?
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DOES STEALING HELP. EVER.
face the ***** facts digg... - Andrewmatt, on 04/04/2008, -2/+1The English version of the movie is here internetisseriousbusiness.com it's pretty funny.
- nagual678, on 04/04/2008, -2/+2I don't understand how this guy buys food, not to mention all the people that worked in the movie ?
Where do they get the money to make the film in the first place ?
Really, I don't understand how this works. - tikal2k, on 04/04/2008, -3/+1Because the director said it was okay to pirate it, I am now suddenly aware of “Lange Flate Ballær II,” a film that I previously had never heard of.
Hey, maybe it might even make it on to my Netflix queue.- bingobongony, on 04/04/2008, -2/+2Good for you. No one cares. That argument has been shown to be compelte absolute *****. For every one prick like you, there are hundreds who are not going to buy it at all.
The director does not own the movie. Period. Are you suggesting that the people that designed hte iPod should be allowed to just give them away. OK...you are going to biutch about how oit costs nothing to pirate the movie. So, are you going to suggest that people who design an iPod should be allowed to sell them at cost? The people who foot the bill are entitled to make money.- tikal2k, on 04/04/2008, -1/+0The value of publicity for certain things cannot be measured in the Old Economy ways of box office receipts alone. When was the last time you paid to look at a photo of "Firecrotch"? Perhaps "Firecrotch" benefits in other ways, eh?
If the iPod product designer said, "Go to the store and steal iPods if you can't afford em, that's how cool these things are and I just wanna see people with em." then we would probably laugh, Digg it up and say "Right on." I'm sure Best Buy and Apple would beg to differ.
On the other hand, perhaps the film's director has a terrible relationship with his producer, who may happen to be an uncouth feebleminded retard with no moral or artistic integrity, and just wanted to tell him, "Hey moron, go ***** yourself", financially speaking. This is not uncommon, for example Peckinpah and Terry Gilliam had very antagonistic relationships with producers they worked with.
- tikal2k, on 04/04/2008, -1/+0The value of publicity for certain things cannot be measured in the Old Economy ways of box office receipts alone. When was the last time you paid to look at a photo of "Firecrotch"? Perhaps "Firecrotch" benefits in other ways, eh?
- bingobongony, on 04/04/2008, -2/+2Good for you. No one cares. That argument has been shown to be compelte absolute *****. For every one prick like you, there are hundreds who are not going to buy it at all.
- mvk25, on 04/04/2008, -0/+3I'm sure the guy just wants to make his movie popular.
- ZackS, on 04/04/2008, -0/+3I read the article... the title is misleading. The producer said that it was "fine" that the movie leaked and it would be naive to think it wouldn't. He didn't really sanction piracy, he just said he was flattered people would go through the trouble to record it, but hopes that when they see the quality of the cam, they go see it for real.
The DIRECTOR, on the other hand, like the title says, gave little more than an admission that it's not worth fighting the pirates, and that movie distributers should try to offer a product to compete with piracy (fast digital download soon after theater release) instead of trying to crush it.
I wonder how many people read closely enough to notice this. Or read at all. - bingobongony, on 04/04/2008, -2/+2Yawnnn. wake me up when someone risks his OWN money by allowing people to pirate movie. Wake me up when hte person who spends the millions to finance the movie has no problem with it.
This is nothing more than a guy stealing from his employer.- ZackS, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1Did you read the article?
- KSpark, on 04/04/2008, -3/+4
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: : : : : : :¯’’~~~~~~’’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : : : - leexy, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1People who produce quality couldn't care less if it's pirated. In fact, the more exposure, the more likely people will want to reward the people involved by handing out their entertainment doll...err, kronas. On the other hand, when you have a purely commercial product with no soul and no artistic added value, the producers wouldn't want it leaked as the only way they're making money out of it is by marketing (think toothpaste) and handing out freebies to cinema critics.
- mattpotts, on 04/04/2008, -1/+0Not really much of an "honour" to have your film cammed since there's a lot of films out there getting the same treatment!
- cliffski, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1can we now have a digg story for EVERY single movie that the makers do not want pirated? or is this one sided torrentfreak ***** again?
- Chasfilm, on 04/04/2008, -0/+0interesting article. thanks!
- mokaone, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1in that case, i'm NOT gonna pirate it
- remember2vote, on 04/05/2008, -1/+0i agreed with blingo 'yawn'
anyways
I am sick of movies about pirates even ef jonny depps is in them.
blingo has his head on strait as is the usual !
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