http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/01/AR2007080102398.html Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom Brief Taping Brings Charges By Daniela Deane Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, August 2, 2007; B01 Jhannet Sejas and her boyfriend were celebrating her 19th birthday by taking in a matinee showing of the hit movie "Transformers" at the theater at Ballston Common mall. Sejas was enjoying the movie so much that she decided to film a short clip of the sci-fi adventure's climax to get her little brother hyped to go see it. Minutes later, two Arlington County police officers were pointing their flashlights at the young couple in the darkened theater and ordering them out. They confiscated the digital camera as evidence and charged Sejas, a Marymount University sophomore and Annandale resident, with a crime: illegally recording a motion picture. "I was terrified," said Sejas, her voice breaking. "I was crying. I've never been in trouble before." She said the assistant manager of the theater saw her holding up the Canon Power Shot and reported it to the general manager, who called police. Sejas said she had no intention of selling the 20-second film clip. She just wanted to show it to her 13-year-old brother, who had said he wanted to see the movie. She was shocked when the officers showed up. Sejas faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 when she goes to trial this month in the July 17 incident. Arlington police spokesman John Lisle said it was the decision of Regal Cinemas Ballston Common 12 to prosecute the case, a first for Arlington police. "They were the victim in this case, and they felt strongly enough about it," he said. The general manager of Regal Cinemas declined to comment yesterday. Movie pirating cost the industry $18.2 billion worldwide in 2005, the last year for which figures were available, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. Moviegoers are increasingly carrying cellphones, digital cameras and other devices capable of recording. "Ninety percent of recently released films that are pirated are done by camcording in movie theaters," said Kori Bernards, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America. "It's happening all over. And there's been a rash of camcording in the Washington area of late." Besides facing a misdemeanor charge, Sejas was also banned for life from the movie theater she has frequented. Sejas, a Bolivian immigrant who works two part-time jobs to help finance her education, works at the Victoria's Secret store near the movie theater. Her boyfriend, Ivar Villazon, said the camera belongs to his sister; the couple borrowed it, Sejas said, to "make memories" on her birthday. Kendrick Macdowell, general counsel for the Washington-based National Association of Theatre Owners, said that illegal pirating of films costs the industry billions of dollars and that the industry was stepping up efforts to stamp it out. Because of that, he said, there has to be a "zero-tolerance policy at the theater level." "We cannot educate theater managers to be judges and juries in what is acceptable," he said. "Theater managers cannot distinguish between good and bad stealing." Macdowell said the trade association, which represents 28,000 screens nationwide, realizes there is a difference between "egregious acts of stealing our movies and more innocent ones." But he said that distinction needed to be made in court rather than by theater managers. Not everyone agrees. "The movie industry needs to recognize that their audience isn't the enemy," said Cindy Cohn, general counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit group that specializes in digital rights issues. "They need to stop treating their fans like criminals. . . . What they're doing is extremely unreasonable, coming down on this poor girl who was actually trying to promote their movie." Copying a motion picture from a theater performance is a felony under the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005, punishable by up to three years in a federal prison. Several states, including Virginia, also have anti-piracy laws. Jason Schultz, senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said he is aware of only one case prosecuted under the federal statute. In September 2005, a Missouri theater employee pleaded guilty to two counts of using a camcorder to copy two movies. He said he has never heard of a case like Sejas's. "I've heard of people's devices being confiscated, or them being kicked out of the theater," Schultz said. "This is the first criminal arrest for someone filming for personal use that I know of." Sandy Hughes, Sejas's attorney, said she hopes she can resolve the case before it goes to trial Aug. 21 in Arlington General District Court. Villazon said he and his girlfriend had taken a bunch of birthday pictures of each other in the mall, posing with a "guy and girl in a cow suit" at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in the food court. They got to the movie a few minutes after it started. And even though they paid $15 for two matinee tickets, they missed the end. And for you pervs, she's pretty attractive and works at Victoria Secret.
This thread is worthless without more pics. Myspace? BTW do they realize that are there are millions of people including myself which download illegally from the hundreds that record in movie theaters. They need to realize arresting one person won't stop anything.
Anyone actually want to discuss the stupidity of the arrest or are you guys just going to gawk and be stupid? Nevermind.
Lets see if common sense prevails here(police let her go), but you never know, we live in times where common sense isn't so common anymore.
couldn't she just show her brother a trailer? That is the purpose of a trailer isn't it??? to get people hype up to watch the movie.. It is common sense what she did is illegal. She got caught and had to pay for it, it's just part of the legal justice system.
I'd hit it... Back to the topic, man, that is some BS...selling a 20 second clip, c'mon...If he was recording the movie, ok...
I remember I took a kid that I watch to see Spider-Man 3. It was a few weeks after it came out so we were the only 2 people in there. Every 5-10 minutes, movie employees would come in and stand around for a few minutes and then leave. It got really distracting. I wonder if they were spying on me making sure I was not video taping the film since we were the only ones in there?
yeah, she shouldnt be cricified, but face the music and take the punishement. You're no allowed to video that stuff, no matter how little of time it is...stupidity is not an excuse. like someone else said, go show your bro a freaking trailer...there are enough of them out there.
if she wants to records things so bad she needs to ball a brother...we can make our own and distribute it freely as we see fit
It's ridiculously extreme, but (a) any sentence is likely to be suspended, (b) she was stupid to do it in the first place. I don't really have that big a problem with it if this just ends up being an extreme move to make an example out of someone. Whining about no harm no foul isn't a legit excuse. Sort of like people considering it some kind of right to pull endless songs off Napster. I could get pulled for speeding 72 in a 65 even though it's pointless, but it's still my fault. If she filmed a bit of it using her cell phone, I highly doubt it would be as big a deal. You could take this and use Youtube as a precedent. Short clips aren't a big deal and aren't going to cost the studios any real money at all, but it's still a copyright violation. Play within the rules, it's not that hard. All she had to do to hype up her brother was say that it was awesome. She's stupid. Sucks that she's being put through the wringer, but it's still her fault. I hope she gets off or the charges get dropped, but hey. Evan
i hope the arrest does not affect her stay in the U.S. that would be worse than the ridiculous fine and prison time. Where is Glynch btw?
uhhhh, she recorded a movie in a theater with a camera... she could have easily put that clip up on youtube... she was arrested for breaking the law... what the problem here?
Youtube would probably remove it in a second.Besides nobody would really care about a 20 second clip either, when the entire movie is already online ready to stream.