http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7978379.stm FBI called in over Wolverine leak The FBI are investigating the online leak of an almost finished copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a month before the film's cinema release. The Hugh Jackman film was downloaded an estimated several 100,000 times from file sharing websites on Tuesday. 20th Century Fox confirmed the copy had now been removed and the FBI informed. The studio behind Wolverine stated: "The source of the initial leak and any subsequent postings will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." "The courts have handed down significant criminal sentences for such acts" the studio noted. 'Stolen and incomplete' Both the FBI and the Motion Picture Association of America are "actively investigating" the crime. The film is not due for release until 29 April in the UK and 1 May in the US. Fox called the leaked movie a "stolen, incomplete and early version". Viewers reported that green screens and wires attached to actors were still visible. One user wrote on film website aintitcool.com: "The CGI is missing and the movie looks horrible without it. "Even if you see the workprint you're still going to have to go see it in the theatre to fully experience the full movie with CGI effects fully intact." Fox confirmed the film "was without many effects and had missing scenes and temporary sound and music." 'Forensically marked' A statement from the studio said that once the film was discovered online they "immediately contacted the appropriate legal authorities and had it removed". The studio added that because their content is forensically marked they should be able to trace the person who uploaded it. A brief caption at the beginning of the film reads 'Rising Sun Pictures' and is dated 2 March, 2009. According to its website, Rising Sun Pictures is an Australian visual effects company that worked on the film and is currently working on production of Terminator Salvation. However, there is no evidence to suggest the company was involved in the leak. The Federation Against Copyright Theft said a leak of this kind was extremely unusual as pre-release security had been tightened in recent years. Access to a whole film is severely restricted, with post production workers being given small portions of the movie to work on and measures put in place to stop it being copied on to disc. Spokesperson Eddy Leviten explained: "No-one working on a film in any capacity wants to see their hard work released through illegal means - piracy is not a fun thing." 'Hurts fans' Although several reviews of the incomplete film have appeared online, Fox was quick to praise the reaction of web users to the leak. "We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning piracy and this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors and, above all, hurts fans of the film" the studio said. In 2007 director Eli Roth blamed an online leak of his horror film Hostel: Part II for reducing box office returns. In an interview with MTV he claimed: "You could buy Hostel: Part II for a quarter in Mexico City. As a result, in a lot of countries where the piracy was bad, they just didn't even release it." The leak came as a new campaign against film piracy launched in UK cinemas. In a change from recent years, the adverts move away from the message that piracy is theft. Audiences will instead see a trailer, fronted by Dr Who actor Noel Clarke, thanking them for paying to come and watch a film.
the time stamps are 2 minutes off so he was probably in the middle of posting it just as you finished posting it. a strange coincidence... but as to the workprint leak...i havent seen it nor do I plan to see it. I will wait to see it in the theaters in a 4 weeks like most people will, the complete version. 6-7 years ago there was a workprint release of The Hulk that came out, i saw that and it was hard to watch (and the movie sucked too) I dont understand the rationale behind leaking a movie out like this. As the article suggests these workprints, the awards screeners all have watermarks that are embedded into the video that can only been scened/removed with a special machine/software combo that identifies the marks. Unless it was like the UPS man who borrowed it and then delivered it I would be very shocked to see a employee of either studio be involved in this leak. I mean its not like to get any money of out leaking the movie (maybe he did but whatever small sum that may have been isnt worth the massive fines/jail time/ruined career that being caught would bring) he may or may not get "underground notoriety" in the scene, but what does respect/adoration from thousands of keyboard warriors mean really? while i am not saint myself when it comes to movie piracy and the likes i realized there is really little to no payoff in it for the people who are actually putting it out on the street and never understood why people would even bother doing so. I mean if i go bootleg/leak a movie and make some copies to sell on the street whats to stop my first customer to make more copies on his on and sell them too or give them away for free? anyways i hope they catch the person(s) involved in this leak
There was a funny rumor, probably just a joke, that Warner Bros. was behind the leak as retaliation for the whole Watchmen lawsuit. But it sounds like it was stolen from a visual effects company. It's a shame, a leak like this could lose them a lot of work and cause them to go out of business.
not sure if FOX would go out of business based on that of course I still expect the wolverine movie to make a good amount of money at the box office, but their returns definitely took a massive hit since there are probably a lot of people who may not go to see it and also if the movie is not that good then you have a month's worth of negative buzz leading up to the release date.
I saw this last night, and it was simply terrible!!!! They could have done so much with this movie, but it was really bad. Wait for the DVD, no doubt! The deadpool saga was a complete travesty.
This movie sucked. One of the worst movies of all-time IMO. They ruined Gambit, they ruined Deadpool... They ruined everything. It was so campy.
The previews look absolutely awful. Terrible effects, terrible prosthetics, terrible plot. X3 should have been a warning.
I didn't say FOX would go out of business, I was talking about the visual effects company that the copy of the movie came from.
are all the negatives based on the trailer or the leaked movie? this movie along with harry potter is what i'm expecting to be exciting blockbusters...
When I saw the unfinished movie, I felt that it sucked. And not in a "it sucked because it's not yet finished way". It sucked in a "all this stuff has already been done and isn't impressive" way.
This movie sucks pretty bad. I'm just waiting for Star Trek, Terminator, Transformers, and G.I Joe now
I saw it and I enjoyed it. Sometimes I think people take these movies to serioiusly. Its not a bad way to spend a few hours.
