It’s been a while since we heard someone shouting out gloom-and-doom because of the film piracy industry. I think too many people have been focused on other issues. Between the writer’s strike, recovering from the writer’s strike, the recession, the election, and now the potential actor’s strike, who’s had time to worry about piracy?
The Hollywood Reporter says there’s a good reason to worry about film piracy. The sales of bootleg DVDs and illegal downloading may affect the entire film industry in the U.K. According to the producer of Quantum of Solace, Callum McDougall, copyright theft is knocking down the British film industry, ”like a house of cards.”
The comments came at a meeting for the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, and make for an excellent soundbyte, along with reminders that Britain’s contributions to the film industry aren’t the “cottage-industry” many people make it out to be, with 3 out of 4 Indiana Jones pictures and 20 out of 22 Bond flicks made in the U.K.
The problem with McDougall’s statements, or at least HR’s reporting of it, is that it doesn’t explain how copyright theft is affecting the British industry. Not that I condone the theft, but there has yet to be truly solid evidence of how damaging things like illegal downloading is to the industry, with many pirates admitting they still purchase legitimate versions of the movies they download.
I’m not saying copyright theft is right, and I’m not saying it’s not damaging Britain’s industry, but I’d like to hear more substantial comments than what looks to be some good soundbytes but little substance.
