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[iapetus]

Feel free to download Fahrenheit 9/11 as much as you like...

Fury as Fahrenheit 9/11 director backs illegal not-for-profit downloads
By Iain S Bruce, Online Editor

Controversial film-maker Michael Moore has welcomed the appearance on the internet of pirated copies of his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and claimed he is happy for anybody to download it free of charge.

The activist, author and director told the Sunday Herald that, as long as pirated copies of his film were not being sold, he had no problem with it being downloaded.

“I don’t agree with the copyright laws and I don’t have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they’re not trying to make a profit off my labour. I would oppose that,” he said.

“I do well enough already and I made this film because I want the world, to change. The more people who see it the better, so I’m happy this is happening.”

Moore’s views have not been well received by Hollywood’s establishment, which is fighting a war against the online pirates it claims cost the industry £1.6 billion a year in lost sales.

Jack Valenti, the outgoing president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), said: “We are proud that American films continue to enjoy immense popularity around the world but the need for copyright protection in the digital age is crucial to the preservation of our most prized trade asset.

“Piracy is having a dramatic impact on the creators and copyright owners of this nation, and its defeat depends largely on the commit ment and resolve of the entire industry.

“File sharing causes tremendous financial loss to the movie business, untold hardship to support workers, and costs thousands of jobs.”

Distributed via websites such as suprnova.org, which lays claim to having served more than 17 million downloads, Moore’s documentary critique of the Bush administration’s red, white and blue rush into war with Iraq is among the web’s hottest properties.

Thousands of copies of Fahrenheit 9/11 have already been downloaded, each taking about 3.5 hours over a broadband connection.

Ironically, the burgeoning underground market for Moore’s much-debated documentary has been championed by both sides of the political divide. While left-wing sites promote the film’s message, opponents of the high-profile polemicist are urging people to “steal” their copy, thus denying its director his cut of the profits.

Last month the website of producers Lions Gate Films was subjected to a barrage of attacks by hackers, with one creating a link to a download destination on the site’s front page.

Despite up to 150 people simultaneously bagging free copies of its most valuable property at any given time 24 hours a day, Lions Gate says it has no plans to oppose the practice. While unwilling to make any official statement likely to further provoke Hollywood’s heavy hitters, the film company appears to have fallen into line with its director’s laissez-faire approach.

Moore said: “Is it wrong for someone who’s bought a film on DVD to let a friend watch it for free? Of course it’s not. It never has been and never will be. I think information, art and ideas should be shared.”

Defenders of Moore’s position include Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino, who earlier this year encouraged audiences in countries where his films are not legally available to obtain counterfeit copies.

The furore engulfing Moore is just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the film. Almost smothered by original production company Miramax’s refusal to distribute the final cut, he also this year launched an unsuccessful legal attempt to overturn the MPAA’s decision to give the documentary an “R” rating, which barred under-16s from seeing the movie without an adult.

Opposed by Move America Forward, a conservative group set up to dissuade cinemas from showing the film, Fahrenheit 9/11 has become one of the most controversial productions in Hollywood history. Last month Australian distributors Hopscotch Films claimed to have received e-mails warning that if the company went ahead with its planned release of the movie, it would do so “at our own peril”.

The hubbub is unlikely to subside any time soon. With Lions Gate reporting that DVD rights are likely to be won by Disney-owned Buena Vista Home Entertainment, many commentators believe the digital distribution network may yet face serious opposition.

Valenti said: “Nobody can allow their rights to be stolen because, if you can’t retrieve your investment, you’re out of the movie business,

“I don’t think there’s really a single actor or director in the world who does not believe that if you don’t combat piracy, it will devour you in the future.”

 

[bogg]

SHARE EVERYTHING!
/cancel uploads in kazaa

 

[border]

I like how the article flat-out tells you where to download, and even how long the download will take....

 

[Minotauro]

Do these morons honestly believe that the whole theatre experiece is somehow going to be replaced by crappy movie files watched on a monitor?

The whole thing is fucking absurd. They were just as frightened when television was introduced. Furthermore, maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the movie industry making more money now than it ever has?

 

[siege]

Would be nice if all the movie studios agreed with Moore.

 

[DJ Sl4m]

Pretty obvious how important it is that he spreads his twisted idea of of the thruth about 9-11 is.

Personally I think he's a creative scumbag trying to take advatage of the media being so stupid to fall for every controversial ploy to make profits.

In the end, who gives a damn, it's just HIS own opinion.

 

[Forsete]

And we... the pirates, love Moore!

 

[Suikoguy]

its quite simple, I just don't think moore is some money hungry bastard. The movie did great in theaters, made more then enough money, why care if someone pirates it?
Besides, some towns don't even have the movie playing in their local theater.

EDIT:

Besides, Documentaries fall into another catagory, with a documentary people like to have their message heard.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

hrm...suprnova being named...


Think I'll stick off torrents for a bit...

 

[Dan]

Furthermore, maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the movie industry making more money now than it ever has?

No, not really. Unless you believe the sensationalist bullshit every week where journalists report that the latest blockbuster has broken dozens of records. You know, apparently inflation doesn't apply to movie box office grosses... Gone With the Wind is still the most successful film in the US, but damned if the industry is going to admit to that.

DVD sales, tie-ins, etc however, do add up to tons. They may be making more, but certainly not off theatrical releases alone.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Of cource he loves the pirates, he hates America. [/republican]

 

[Phoenix]

its quite simple, I just don't think moore is some money hungry bastard. The movie did great in theaters, made more then enough money, why care if someone pirates it?

Because when he SOLD the rights foir distribution he sold his say on whether or not people should freely download the movie. That's like me selling you a cake and telling everyone that its fine if the eat as much of the cake as they want.

 

[bishoptl]

Of course, if people keep eating the cake, eventually there won't be any cake left. Perhaps a more apt analogy would be Moore encouraging people to copy the cake's recipe?

 

[Kiriku]

"Thousands of copies of Fahrenheit 9/11 have already been downloaded, each taking about 3.5 hours over a broadband connection."

3,5 hours!? What kind of crappy broadband connection is that?

 

[Kon Tiki]

"Thousands of copies of Fahrenheit 9/11 have already been downloaded, each taking about 3.5 hours over a broadband connection."

3,5 hours!? What kind of crappy broadband connection is that?

It is a UK article. 175kb/s is pretty avg.

 

[MIMIC]

"Thousands of copies of Fahrenheit 9/11 have already been downloaded, each taking about 3.5 hours over a broadband connection."

3,5 hours!? What kind of crappy broadband connection is that?

That doesn't include the extraction process, and the process that comes after that.

 

[callous]

hrm...suprnova being named...


Think I'll stick off torrents for a bit...

Another tactic would be to grab as much as you can before someone goes napster on them. Surely, when they're being mentioned in articles such as this, the end is nigh.

 

[Stele]

On the main page under last post, the thread title is abbreviated "Michael Moore loves the..." I was totally expecting something else.

 

[nubbe]

Moore is obviously a communist

 

[neptunes]

stop supernova and there are like 5 billion other trackers out there.

kind of like napster.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Moore is obviously a communist

Heh, he did have a transport trailer painting with the hammer and sickle drive through the south in TV Nation.

 

[Hournda]

I say bravo to Michael Moore. If you've ever seen those commercials in the theater where they have that black guy who works in the movie industry in some kind of blue collar job there say "Pirating hurts minorities who work in low-level film jobs" it's wrong. Pirating just means that Jerry Bruckheimer makes only $50 million off of his latest film instead of $55 million. Hollywood makes enough money as it is, it's not like they're going to start shutting down studios and laying people off because of a couple of pirates.

 

[Mrbob]

This is funny.

The reason Moore doesn't care is because the movie has already done 40+ million in the box office. If it had done 400K in the box office I guarantee he would be sharing a different view.

 

[Socreges]

This is funny.

The reason Moore doesn't care is because the movie has already done 40+ million in the box office. If it had done 400K in the box office I guarantee he would be sharing a different view.

He said something to this effect before the movie was even released. Not that we don't appreciate the guarantee and everything.

 

[Kon Tiki]

He said something to this effect before the movie was even released. Not that we don't appreciate the guarantee and everything.

This WAS from before the film came out. Parts of it are word for word from a video conference he had.

 

[Kiriku]

hrm...suprnova being named...


Think I'll stick off torrents for a bit...

Weeeell, suprnova.org has been mentioned before, I think it was in Washington post. And that article was about downloading movies too. The article was available shortly there-after on suprnova of course.

 

[The Faceless Master]

That doesn't include the extraction process, and the process that comes after that.

mounting the image with alcohol or daemon tools?

 

[ElyrionX]

This is funny.

The reason Moore doesn't care is because the movie has already done 40+ million in the box office. If it had done 400K in the box office I guarantee he would be sharing a different view.

IAWTP

He shouldn't just go right out and condone piracy like that. Piracy doesn't kill the big players. It only hurts the small ones.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

IAWTP

But the post you're agreeing with is just plain wrong. He's been saying these things for a long time.

He shouldn't just go right out and condone piracy like that. Piracy doesn't kill the big players. It only hurts the small ones.

Ehh, this is a bit vague. Every time I've heard him speak about this (including the quotes given in this article), he's been specifically answering as to what he thinks of people sharing the films (or TV shows or books) he's made.